Pokemon Academy: Power of Chaos
by Legacy918
Summary: Sequel to Pokemon Academy: A New Dawn! Welcome back to Pokemon Academy! After three weeks of winter vacation, Alex, Mark, and the rest of the gang come back to finish the rest of the year, but not without challenges, mysteries, and romance! SYOC Challenge, read rules in profile/bio. AU with both anime and game characters. OC x Dawn, OC x Jasmine, OC x Skyla, N x Hilda.
1. Chapter 1: Frisbee

**Hello everyone! Legacy918 here with the first chapter of Pokemon Academy: Power of Chaos! This is a sequel to Pokemon Academy: A New Dawn but some people would like a refresher of the characters so I'll be describing them upon first introduction. This chapter and part of the next one will pretty much just be introductions so there isn't much plot but I promised this book to be more plot heavy so we will definitely get more of that. **

**Unlike the first book, I am not planning on accepting any OCs but if you don't already have a character in this story, you are more than welcome to submit a character and if it is an incredible OC, I will accept them, but I'm talking like so good, I'd be stupid to say no. Check out the rules for submitting on my bio.**

**I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone who updated their character's outfits and I am still waiting for a few. Not every OC will appear in this chapter, but I will get to them soon. Anyway, without further ado, I hope you enjoy Pokemon Academy: Power of Chaos.**

**Chapter 1: Frisbee**

"Mark, we're about to land." The dark haired teenager opened his eyes slowly to reveal a pair of crimson orbs as he glanced around to find himself seated inside an airplane. A seatbelt kept him secure in his chair and the sound of the plane moving through the air rang in his ears. He turned his head to find his older brother looking back at him with a calm expression on his face.

Mark looked into a pair of crimson eyes before hopelessly responding, "Huh?"

Eric sighed as he closed his laptop, put it away in his navy blue backpack, and zipped it up. The flight attendant came down the aisle and told the passengers to buckle up for landing. Soon, they felt the small impact of the plane's wheels meeting the runway below them and increasingly slowing down to a stop next to the connecting exit. The flight attendants gave the passengers permission to start exiting the plane and the Villagran brothers followed the current of passengers out of the plane.

Both Mark and Eric stood at five foot seven inches and shared jet black hair – each styled differently. The younger of the two combed his hair to the left while his brother's was spiked forward. Their skin color differed slightly in tone with Eric's being bit darker.

Mark's clothing consisted of his favorite black jacket which donned many zippers – one went vertically through his torso, one horizontally above each pectoral, one diagonally on either side of his stomach, and one just under each shoulder. He wore a dark violet long-sleeved crew neck shirt, a pair of gray skinny jeans, black Vans, and a dark gray beanie on his head.

Eric wore a black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, a pair of dark green Vans with bronze edges and bottoms, and a dark green zipper turtleneck. His Mega Necklace was tucked between his shirt and turtleneck but one could see the silver chain around his neck.

As they went down the escalator, Eric asked, "Hey, we're waiting for your friend right?"

"Yeah, Dawn's flight should be coming in pretty soon."

"You said she's from west Sinnoh, right?"

"Yeah, Twinleaf, I think."

"Really? I didn't take her for a country girl. I thought she'd be from Hearthome or maybe Jubilife."

"Yeah, me neither. I was surprised when she told us that too."

"Hey, are you hungry?"

"After the nine hour flight? Yeah!"

Eric smiled, "Alright, there's a food court down here so we can get something to eat." As the brothers walked into a circular courtyard, they were met with the sound of chatter and the aroma of fried food. Their blood red orbs scanned the fast food establishments until they settled on burgers. After ordering their food, they found a table nearby and kept their luggage close by as a precaution for thieves. "So when's your next gig?"

"Well things were pretty dry last semester but I think we've got one for the Spring Festival in town and then for the Valentine's Day dance."

"It's weird seeing you in a band. You've never been the 'rock star' type, you know?"

Mark chuckled, "I guess. How come you didn't ask Roxie to join as the pianist?"

Eric shrugged, "I'm not really interested in that right now."

"I know what you're interested" he responded with a wink.

"You mean my girlfriend? Yeah, I'm pretty interested in her. What about you and Jasmine huh?" Mark's grin faded as Eric laughed, "Didn't think about that before you opened your mouth, did you?" His younger brother's burning face was all he needed as a response.

* * *

><p>Dawn stepped out of the hallway to find herself in one of the gate lobbies. Knowing well that the weather would be colder than the previous semester, she wore a red coat that ended just above the knees and a white scarf around her neck. She still donned her signature white beanie with a pink Poke Ball insignia and pink boots. Piplup was in her arms with his flippers hanging over them as he and his trainer scanned the area and found a pair of boys getting up from their seats and walking towards her.<p>

"Hey Mark! Hey Eric!" She ran over to the boys and hugged him.

"Plup! Piplup!" the little penguin waved.

"Hey, where's Noibat?"

Eric lifted the bottom of his shirt to reveal his set of Poke Balls hooked to his belt. He picked one off, enlarged it, and opened the device to reveal his small purple winged friend. The tiny bat let out a small yawn before realizing where he was.

"Hi Noibat!" Dawn said sweetly.

Noibat looked up to find the blue-haired girl and waved with an innocent smile, "Noibat!"

"Come on up, Noibat." The little bat turned to his trainer and flew up onto his shoulder, making himself comfortable.

The trio suddenly heard girls shriek, "Ah! Matt!" and turned to find a group of teenage girls running towards a muscular brunette. He wore a black muscle shirt underneath a white jacket along with black jeans and a pair of white sneakers.

Matt greeted the girls with a confident grin as they gathered around him, "Ah, hello there ladies." Matt looked straight ahead to find Mark and the others and started to approach them, "Hey there Eric! Hey there Little Eric! Hey little Eric's friend!"

Eric sighed, "Their names are Mark and Dawn, Matt."

"Right!" He turned his head to the girls behind him, "Hey you ladies want to go get something to eat? Because I'm starving!"

"Yes!" they squealed.

"Alright! How about you guys?"

Eric shook his head, "Mark and I already ate."

Matt looked at Dawn, "What about you, beautiful?"

She turned to Eric and Mark, not really knowing how to respond to that or if she should even dignify that with a response. Eric merely shrugged with indifference and Dawn soon felt her stomach growling a bit.

Matt put and arm around her and whisked her away, "Alright then, it's settled! Let's go to the food court!"

The crimson-eyed brothers looked at each other, then at the crowd of girls following their idol, both slightly confused. From the corner of Mark's eye, he noticed a head of neck-length purple hair pass by and saw that it was Paul. Eric followed his brother's eyes and remembered the incident with Alaina so he quickly understood what was going on without Mark having to say anything. "We should probably follow Dawn to make sure Matt doesn't try anything."

Mark kept his eyes on Paul as he responded, "Yeah, good idea."

* * *

><p>Karitoru yawned as he watched the elevator light switch from number to number with his dual-colored eyes – his left eye was white while his right one was black. He wore a black hoodie, dark gray T-shirt, black jeans, and black running shoes. A white glove claimed his right hand and a black glove, the left. He passed a hand through his snow white hair as he waited for the elevator to reach the fifth floor of the Tao Dorm, still feeling the fatigue from his flight. The doors finally opened and he started hauling his luggage through the hallway until he reached his room and entered it. No one else was inside, but there was already a suit case underneath the bed and a bottle of cologne on one of the night stands. He noticed that there was no light coming from the space underneath the door to the restroom, either.<p>

Seeing this, Karitoru placed his luggage on his own bed and sent a message to his roommate, Stephen, with his Pokegear. The message read, "Hey dude, I'm in our room. Where are you?"

A short while went by which Karitoru used to start unpacking before his Pokegear vibrated and he read a message that said, "I'm with Jess and Alaina in the Weather Dorm lounge. Come through." With that, Karitoru went to meet his friends.

* * *

><p>Mark, Eric, Dawn, and Matt all sat at a table while Matt's groupies basically stood around waiting on him. The bluenette was trying to act comfortable as she awkwardly ate her noodles while her friends sat, just watching how the other girls would do anything Matt asked them to.<p>

"Stacey, could you be a dear and get me some napkins?"

"Okay Matt!"

"Alice, I think I could go for a refill."

"You've got it!"

He faced the others, "Aren't they just adorable?"

With uncertainty in his voice, Eric responded, "Uh, yeah…isn't it a little chilly to be wearing a muscle shirt?"

"Eric, please, I'm so hot that it's like using Ice Shard on an Arcanine."

Again, Eric didn't really know how to respond to that except by saying, "Right…so how was your guys' flight?" He directed his question to both Matt and Dawn.

The brunette player responded, "Pretty damn good, but that's mostly because the flight attendants were gorgeous! How about you, beautiful?"

It took a second for Dawn to realize he was talking to her, "Oh well I didn't really get much sleep. I was too excited to see Alex." Without even realizing it, a warm smile formed on her face.

"Did you guys talk over the break?" Mark asked.

"Mhm! We Skyped a lot and I got to see Eevee! She's so adorable!"

Eric's interest was piqued, "So the egg hatched, huh? When did it happen?"

"I think he said that Eevee hatched when he and Brock were on the plane heading home. You gave it to him, right?"

"Yeah."

"Who are the parents?"

"My Espeon and May's Glaceon. It's funny because they've always liked each other but we never really got around to breeding them so we decided to just leave them with the Day Care Couple. I should've known that a lot of other students were going to want the egg, though." A ringtone sounded from Eric's Xtransceiver, urging him to look at it.

"What happened?" Mark asked.

"It's just a text from Skyla asking if I'm on the island yet." Eric responded to the message, but then he saw the time. "Hey, you guys should pick up the pace because we have to get on the bus in ten minutes."

* * *

><p>The small white ball bounced back and forth over the net on the blue ping pong table as Stephen and Jessica hit it with their paddles. The teenage girl hit the ball, making it land on a corner and ricochet in a way that prevented Stephen from countering.<p>

She threw her hands into the air and shouted, "In your face!" The Jolteon lying down at her side stood up and cheered with her.

Stephen chuckled as he picked the ball up, causing his razor black hair to fall over his face so he pushed it out of the way when he stood up straight to reveal a set of forest green eyes. He wore a sleeveless gray hoodie with a sleeveless black shirt underneath, beige cargo pants, and black sneakers. A forest green bandana was tied around his neck and a Yin Yang necklace appeared from under it. His signature green headphones were kept around his neck but blared loud music that he could listen to as he played.

The green-eyed boy tossed the ball to his friend on the other side of the table so she could serve. "Hey, this game is far from over."

Jessica pushed some locks of her shoulder-length auburn hair- which had blonde highlights – behind her ear to prevent it from interfering with her vision and stared Stephen down with her dark brown eyes and a confident smirk on her face. "Yeah, but I'm one step closer to getting that free smoothie." Her clothing was very simple, consisting of a dark gray hoodie, blue jeans, and black boots. The collar of a dark red T-shirt could be seen from the opening in her sweater.

She bounced the ball on the table and swung her paddle, initiating another session which resulted in another point for Jessica when the ball dashed to Stephen's side and then past him. "Alright! That's another point for me."

Stephen turned around to go get the ball but stopped upon seeing Karitoru standing with it in his hand. They could see the straps of a backpack hugging Karitoru's body. "Are you really getting your ass handed to you by Jessica?"

"Karitoru!" Jessica smiled upon seeing him and ran over to him. She then thought about what he said, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

The snow-haired teen chuckled as his roommate approached him and the two clasped hands. "Good to see you, man" Stephen said.

"Same to you, bro. I thought you said Alaina was here with you guys?"

Jessica responded, "She went to the restroom real quick. Oh there she is!" Karitoru followed her finger to find the petite pale-skinned girl approaching them. He immediately noticed some differences in her appearance. Her black hair was no longer tied into a ponytail and was now flowing down her back while being held by a dark green headband. Her previously untouched earlobes now each had an earring in the shape of a Poke Ball and she wore a tiny bit of make up on her face – not enough to make her look like a clown but enough to bring out her sapphire eyes. Her most distinguishing quality was the cluster of freckles that were scattered on her on her cheeks and over the bridge of her nose. Karitoru's eyes made their way to her clothing and noticed that she was wearing a dark green T-shirt underneath a light black jacket. Her jeans were light in color, but she still wore her neon purple shoes.

Upon seeing the white-haired boy, Alaina smiled sweetly and waved. Karitoru waved back with a smile of his own and went to hug her, "Hey Alaina, how've you been?"

"P-pretty good, what about you?"

"I've been good. You look different…" Alaina started to feel anxious as thoughts raced through her head of what he thought of it. This was not the first time it happened today because she felt the same way when Stephen saw her and it would not be the last for she still had many friends to reunite with and receive evaluations on her new look from. Karitoru's lips curved into a smile, "It's a good look for you." If it was not so cheesy, Alaina would have sighed from relief, but she settled for an internal sigh followed by an external smile.

Karitoru looked at Jessica, "You look different too, Jess, and it's not just the haircut. I just can't place my finger on it, though." Jessica and Stephen looked at each other then back at him, both wondering if he would figure out what was different about her. "Oh yeah, there's a severe lack of a little blubber ball on your shoulder."

Jessica laughed, "He's in here." She held out a Poke Ball before activating it and releasing the Pokemon inside. A bright flash of white light stunned their vision briefly before disappearing and leaving a large blue seal-walrus Pokemon in its place. He had a set of white whiskers above his mouth and a goofy smile.

"Sealeo!" he cried happily.

"Spheal evolved?!" Karitoru looked at the large sack of blubber wide-eyed.

"Yup! He's too big to be outside of his Poke Ball now but I like the comfort of a Pokemon with me so Jolteon decided to come out and follow me around."

The spiky yellow dog nodded, "Jolt! Jolteon!"

"That's awesome! Oh yeah, I got presents for you guys!" He started digging through his backpack. "I know it's not much but here." He handed a card to download music to Stephen, a sticker with the design of the Rumble Badge to Jessica for her surfboard, and a green and blue bracelet to Alaina.

"Not much? This is so sweet of you!" Jessica responded. "We didn't bring presents because there isn't much to bring from Pacifidlog Town but how about a meaningful hug?"

Karitoru chuckled, "That'll do too." Jessica gave him a tight hug and as they separated, Alaina shyly gave him one as well.

Finally, Karitoru looked at Stephen and the green-eyed boy chuckled, "Alright, alright." The roommates clasped hands and held them between them as their free hands came around to hug each other. With all of that out of the way, Stephen asked, "So you guys up for doubles?"

* * *

><p>Mark, Eric, Matt, and Dawn rode the school bus to campus and upon arrival, got their room keys and went to leave their possessions in their rooms. After that, Mark and Eric split from each other to go with their separate groups of friends. Mark was informed that Dawn, Serena, and Calem were all with the rest of their friends with the exception of Alex and Brock so he decided to meet them at the dining hall.<p>

As he walked on the cement path, he noticed a trio of girls nearby tossing a Frisbee amongst each other. The weather had not gotten to the point where it was uncomfortable to be outside and the sun was out at the moment so it provided a moderate amount of warmth. From the three girls, one in particular caught his attention – Jasmine. She was a fair skinned beauty with sandy brown hair that flowed down her back but had two wing-like tufts held by orange spherical clips on either side of her head. Her eyes matched her hair color and her smooth skin was complimented by the small traces of blush. She wore a sky blue dress, white insulated leggings, a light white cardigan, and a pair of white and sky blue Converse hi-tops. A large red-orange bow was placed neatly above her chest.

Mark paid too much attention to her, causing him to walk right into a light pole and fall onto his – as the Kalosians says – derriere. Jasmine saw and cringed when she saw his head hit the pole. She, along with her friends, Addison and Flannery, went over to him.

"H-hey! Are you okay?"

Mark rubbed his forehead and opened his eyes slowly to find Jasmine standing over him. In complete surprise and embarrassment, he suddenly sprang forward and turned around. He began fumbling with his words, "Me? Y-yeah, I lost my footing and tripped."

The other two girls caught up with Jasmine. Addison was the short brunette who barely broke five feet, standing at five foot one. She wore a white sweater with the image of an Ultra Ball on the front, a pair of dark blue jeans, white knee length warm socks, black winter boots, black gloves, and to complete the ensemble, a blue winter hat. Her brown eyes looked at Mark as she crossed her arms and remarked, "You tripped backwards?"

Flannery, the tall girl with explosive red hair held together with a blue scrunchy, fair skin, and energetic ruby eyes kneeled down next to Mark and whispered, "It's okay, we know like her and were distracted is all. Personally, I think it's adorable so get up and whoo her!" She pulled Mark up and urged him to talk to Jasmine who was holding her left arm with her right.

"H-hey…" he gave her a weak smile.

Addison rolled her eyes and muttered, "Charming." Flannery gave her a death glare, not wanting the short brunette to ruin what she considered a potential match that as the "Love Doctor," she would personally see to that it comes to fruition.

"Hi" Jasmine responded.

"Jasmine, right?"

"Mhm…I never caught your name."

He quickly blurted out, "It's Mark!" then quickly followed with a more mellow and calmer response, "I mean, it's Mark."

"Well it's nice to meet you…uh, well formally," she giggled awkwardly. "Um, would you like to play with us?" She quickly realized that that could be taken the wrong way and tried to recover herself, "I mean, not _play_ with us…well I mean Frisb–"

Addison took it upon herself to say, "She wants to know if you want to play Frisbee with us."

"S-sure, but I'm going to have to meet up with some friends pretty soon."

"Great!" Flannery exclaimed as she put an arm around Mark and Jasmine. "So do you know how to throw a Frisbee?"

"Yeah, I play with my brothers back home."

Addison asked, "Wait, you and Eric have another brother? Does he come here?"

"Your brother is Eric?!" Flannery asked excitedly.

"Um, yes, no, he's younger than me, and yes. Wait, how does everyone seem to know my brother?"

Jasmine looked at her friends and Addison responded, "Everyone knows the top trainers, duh."

"Guess that makes sense" Mark responded.

"Yeah! Maybe you'll be famous around her just like him," Flannery replied.

Mark feigned a smile, "Yeah, maybe. So, uh, Frisbee?"

"Yeah, totally!" the red-head said. She prepared to throw the disk and swung her arm, releasing it into a steady flight towards Mark.

The crimson-eyed boy caught it and deciding that it'd be too obvious to send it to Jasmine, he threw it to Addison. The four teenagers passed the Frisbee amongst themselves to the point where Mark was starting to feel a bit more comfortable with Jasmine and her friends, mostly because Flannery was so welcoming of him.

Flannery prepared a long pass and told Mark to go long. _Unfortunately_, the Frisbee curved but Mark was determined to catch it. Without looking where he was going, he jumped but bumped into someone and the two fell down. He turned around to find Jasmine lying on the grass and he immediately started apologizing.

Jasmine giggled, "No, it's okay. I'll have to remember to bring a helmet when playing with you, though."

Mark laughed as he got up and offered her a hand, which she accepted. He took her dainty hand into his own and noticed that she looked away slightly to hide the pink spread on her face. "I guess I'm just really clumsy today," he chuckled awkwardly, but Jasmine found this cute and giggled, herself. "H-hey, I'd stay longer but I really should get to my friends…you know, I h-haven't seen them in a while."

Jasmine nodded, "Sure…I'll be seeing you then."

He waved to her, "Alright, bye." He then waved goodbye to Flannery and Addison and went on his way to the dining hall.

* * *

><p>Upon seeing his friends inside the dining hall, Mark hugged the girls that he had not seen already and clasped hands with his neighbors and Calem. "Jess, you cut your hair! Alaina, you got your ears pierced! Stephen, you…uh, you're hair got messier?"<p>

The green-eyed boy laughed, "You're so observant. And I see you got more swag."

"Are you insinuating I did not always have swag?"

Stephen patted his back, "Of course not, you've always had tons of swag."

"Well now we're just missing two and our groups complete!" Serena said excitedly.

* * *

><p>White Converse met the blue airport rug as emerald green eyes filled with vitality and enthusiasm scanned the room. His jeans were black, his dress shirt was light gray, and his hoodie was orange with white strings coming from either side of the hood. He had smooth light skin with rosy cheeks as well as spiky brown hair and a large goofy grin that added to his energetic attitude. A Pikachu rode on the boy's shoulder and a tan skinned, spiky brunette stood at his side.<p>

The emerald-eyed boy threw his arms into the air and announced, "We're back, bitches!"

**Well, what did you guys think of this first chapter? Love it? Hate it? Did it meet your expectations? Fail to meet them? Let me know in the reviews! I don't really think I'll be doing QOTD/POTD's for this story because I want the reviews to be legitimate reviews that can help me become a better writer. Well, I've got nothing left so until next time! Legacy, out!**


	2. Chapter 2: Appetizer

**Merry Christmas!...Eve! Okay so I know a lot of authors are going to do this, or at least try, but here's a Christmas present for all of my awesome readers! I'm very happy with how this chapter came out and I hope you all enjoy it as well! There aren't any reviews I want to address directly here but I do want to acknowledge that everyone seemed to enjoy that last line. I'll give you guys a bit of backstory. Me and J4Days (the guy Alex s based on), were talking the other day and I was telling him about a Kingdom Hearts Let's Play on Youtube by the channel, MorgantWant, and the video is the finale in which Sora and Riku return to Destiny Islands. When the camera goes onto Sora's face when Kairi says "You're home", Nate (Morgan's boyfriend) whispers, "We're back bitches!" And that's where that line came from. Anyways, enjoy this chapter! **

**Chapter 2: Appetizer**

Eric arrived in the lounge of the Tao Dorm to find all of his friends sitting around on the couches and comfy chairs, watching television. Brendan saw him and waved, prompting the others to turn around and ambush him with a flurry of greetings. The first was Skyla, who ran up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips against his.

As they parted away, he said, "Well someone's glad to see me."

She smiled and looked up at him with her sapphire eyes, "Of course I am!"

He gave her a warm smile, "I missed you too," and gave her one more peck before turning his attention to the rest of his friends. Elesa and May both gave him a hug while Takuya and Brendan clasped hands with him.

As he looked around at his friends, he saw all of their winter clothing consisting of hoodies, jackets, jeans, and leggings – for the girls. Eric's best friend and roommate, Takuya, wore a solid red sweater with a hood, a black jacket, a pair of dark gray jeans, and black and red sneakers. He also had a dark gray scarf with flame markings at the end wrapped snuggly around his neck, a dark gray beanie with a fire pattern at the bottom, and a pair of gray winter gloves. Takuya absolutely hated cold weather and despite the moderate room temperature, he liked to keep himself very insulated.

"William and Korrina aren't here?" Eric asked as he took a seat next to Skyla with an arm around her.

Takuya shook his head, "Well they were here earlier but Arceus knows what they're up to now."

The others laughed and Skyla then asked her boyfriend, "Hey where's my little brother-in-law."

Eric let out a mixture between a laugh and a sigh as responded, "You know he hates it when you call him that."

Skyla giggled, "Duh! That's exactly why I do it. It's so adorable when he gets annoyed."

"Well he went off with his friends, I think. Oh! That reminds me, May!" The brunette looked at him with her pale blue – almost silver – eyes. "I just heard that the egg I gave Alex hatched."

A large smile appeared on May's face, "Ohmygosh! Let's go see it!"

"I'm not sure if he's here yet, though. Let me ask my brother." Eric sent a message to Mark and shortly after, got a response saying that Alex still had not arrived. "Nope, he's not here yet. I'll ask him to let me know when he gets here so we can see his Eevee."

"I can't wait!" May responded. "Is it a boy or a girl."

"It's a girl. Dawn's already seen her because they Skyped a lot over the break."

"Aw," Skyla said. "They're so cute together. Me and Elesa totally called it when we first saw them together at the dance, right girl?"

The blonde beauty nodded, "Oh yeah, definitely!"

Eric's Xtransceiver rang and once he read the message on the screen, he told his friends, "Well, he's here and he's at the dining hall."

* * *

><p>Alex approached the desk where his guidance counselor, Lenora, sat at. The dark skinned woman smiled upon seeing her students and greeted him with a friendly voice.<p>

"Hey there, Alex. How was your break?"

"It was pretty laid back. I went with my dad to watch one of the Kanto Elite Four battle."

"Oh really? That sounds like fun! Which one?"

"It was Bruno. He specializes in Fighting-types but for some reason, he has an Onix." Alex shook the thought out of his head, "Anyway, Professor Oak said to come to you for my room key."

"Yup," she started looking through the small yellow envelopes until she found one with his name on it. "Alright, here you go. Enjoy your second semester, sugar."

"Thanks, Lenora! I'll see you around."

As he walked along the cement pathways to his dorm, the six-story black and white building towered over him. He felt the need to stop in front of one of the golden statues that stood in front of the facility and take a moment to look at it. The statue was of a dragon-type Pokemon with a small horn-like protrusion on the tip of its snout, a thundercloud crest on top of its head, two splintered wings, and a large generator-like tail.

He suddenly felt his Pokemon nudge him and looked at the small yellow mouse. "Pika, pi."

Alex nodded, "Right," and continued inside. After an elevator ride and a walk down the hall, he made it to his room and found that Mark had already been inside and left his stuff there. "I'm pretty sure he's with everyone else so I'll call him."

He placed his Pokegear against his ear and waited as it rang until he heard, "Hello?" from the other end.

"Hey dude, I'm in our room. Where are you at?"

"I'm in the dining hall and everyone else is here too, well except for Brock."

"Everyone?" Alex asked.

Mark understood what he meant, "Yeah dude, _everyone_."

"Alright! Awesome. I'll be down in like ten minutes." He left his bags in his room and quickly went to the elevators. Once inside, he tapped his foot, anxious to see his girlfriend and friends again. Pikachu rode comfortably on his trainers shoulder, excited to see everyone as well, but was better at controlling it.

The elevator stopped on the third floor, making Alex groan, but the doors soon parted to reveal a beautiful young girl on the other side. Alex immediately noticed her dark red hair, reminding him of Skyla's, except that this girl's was wavy and fell to the end of her back. She had light green eyes, resembling his, and a light tan on her smooth skin. She wore a purple off-the-shoulder crop top with long sleeves over a light gray tank top and a pair of white shorts hugged her thighs. She also had black tights, a navy blue cycling cap, and a matching scarf which was worn loosely to reveal her black choker necklace. Alex's eyes were immediately drawn to her choker because on it was a colorful stone – the same one he'd seen on Karitoru's bracelet, Eric's chain necklace, Wesley's ring, and Ava's own choker necklace.

The red-head entered the elevator, avoiding eye contact, and turned around to face the doors which were now closing. She stood with one hand in the other and her green eyes aimed directly ahead while Alex did his best to try and not stare at her Mega Choker to prevent giving her the wrong idea. After an uncomfortable ride, the elevator stopped again and the doors opened. Alex held his hand out so the girl could exit to which she smiled and nodded in gratitude before taking her leave.

As Alex exited, he let her get some distance and told Pikachu, "It's a good thing she didn't rub your ear, too." Pikachu laughed and scratched the back of his head. Once outside, Alex's face was met with the chilling air. He found Brock there waiting for them and together, they all went to the dining hall.

* * *

><p>Brock opened the front door to the dining hall, allowing Alex to enter first and they immediately started scanning for their friends. The tan-skinned boy saw a head of long blue hair covered by a white beanie and nudged Alex whose eyes lit up upon seeing her. They started walking towards the group and were soon noticed by the others.<p>

Dawn rushed over to her boyfriend and said excitedly, "Ohmygosh! You're here! Let me see her! Let me see her!"

Alex looked at her with a raise eyebrow as he responded, "It's good to see you too, babe."

Dawn giggled, "Hi!" She stood on her tip-toes to give him a kiss and then went back to standing up straight as she continued, "Alright, can I see her now?"

He chuckled, bringing out a crimson-red Poke Ball. "My dad said that a Pokemon hatched from an egg is special and that it deserves a special Poke Ball so he had a friend from Johto make this Cherish Ball just for Eevee." A chorus of "ooh's" could be heard from his friends. The emerald-eyed boy pressed the silver button on the center to enlarge the device and opened it, releasing a flash of white light, and then a tiny quadrupedal Pokemon with brown fur except for around her collar, which was beige, appeared in the center of their circle.

"Eevee!" she cried happily.

Dawn and the rest of the girls "Aw'd" and fell in love with the tiny Evolution Pokemon, pushing Alex out of the way. "Guys!" he complained, "She's my Pokemon!"

They heard a loud slam and turned to find May standing at the entrance with the doors wide open. "Where is she?!" She looked from left to right, scanning the room and once she found Alex and his friends, she rushed over to pick up Eevee. "She's so cute! I absolutely love her!"

Mark noticed Eric and the rest of his friends approach his group. "Hey Eric, what's up?"

"Well May and I wanted to see Alex's Eevee, but I didn't think she'd be this excited." Eric's crimson eyes made their way towards May who was coddling the Eevee pup and rocking her in her arms, while the little Pokemon milked the attention by yawning. Even Brendan could resist "Awing."

Takuya raised any eyebrow at him as to which he responded, "What? She's adorable. Guys can't like adorable things too? Psshh, forget you." The knit cap-wearing boy gave his attention back to Eevee.

"Do you want to meet daddy?" May asked as she unhooked a Poke Ball from her belt. Eevee nodded so May called out her Glaceon.

"Glace!" The brunette brought Eevee down to meet her father.

A white light appeared next to Glaceon and revealed Espeon, Eevee's mother, who recognized her child and licked the pup. Jessica's Jolteon approached the trio and started speaking to them. Espeon and Glaceon spoke to each other for a short moment then looked at the yellow canine and nodded. Jolteon then walked over to Eevee and licked her on the forehead.

Alex came up next to Eric and put his elbow on him and leaned on him, "What just happened?"

Eric moved his shoulder, making the younger boy lose his balance a little, before responding, "I think Jolteon just asked Espeon and Glaceon if she could be the godmother or big sister or something. Am I right?" The three Eeveelutions looked up at him and nodded their approval of his prediction.

Alex asked, "Hey Jessica, isn't that your Jolteon?"

"Why yes it is and before you ask because I've already had to say it like five times today, my Spheal evolved into a Sealeo so he's too big to stay outside with me now. Jolteon is still small and will always be small so I let her walked around with me. Does that answer every question you have?"

Alex stayed quiet but raised his hand. "I have one more question."

"Yes?"

"Why'd you cut your hair?"

"Really?"

"What? What's wrong with that question?"

"I just wanted to try out a new style."

She felt an arm around her and turned her head to find Matt next to her, "And might I add that I didn't think you could get more beautiful and here you are proving me wrong."

"Ugh!" She quickly moved away as did Jolteon because his Leafeon was trying to make a move on her as well.

Matt continued, "If Jolteon's the godmother, Leafeon wants to be the godfather."

"Jolt! Jolt!" The tiny dog barked at him in rejection.

Eric responded, "Leafeon can be the godfather but that doesn't mean Jolteon has to be with him." The grass-types ears, drooped in sadness while the electric-type jumped happily making the others laugh. A flashing orb slowly floated its wave to Eevee and split into two before rotating around her. She began shaking her head and crying out as she ran around recklessly, slamming into the leg of one of the tables.

"Eevee!" May and Dawn shrieked in unison as the brunette picked injured Pokemon up in her arms and rubbed her head gently.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

They heard laughter coming from a few tables down where they saw Victor and Damien laughing – Felix just had a sinister grin on his face. There was a black Pokemon at Victor's side that appeared similar to Espeon, Glaceon, Jolteon, and Leafeon except he had blood red eyes and yellow rings around each ear, on his forehead, at each limb connecting to his leg to his torso, and around his tail.

The trio of boys were all tall, standing at around six feet tall. Victor was the tallest, standing at six feet and one inch. He had tan skin, short black hair, and brownish-red eyes with a scar running through his right eyebrow. He wore a black hooded jacket, a dark red long-sleeve shirt and black skinny jeans held up by a white belt. His shoes were white Liepards (Pumas) and he had a golden Spiritomb bracelet on his left wrist as well as a black onyx stud earring in his right ear.

Next was Felix who had spiked up dark purple hair, dark brown eyes filled with intensity, and tan skin. His attire consisted of a black long sleeve shirt, desert camouflage pants held by a black belt, and black worker boots. His coat was white with the Orre Region's symbol in purple on the right pocket, the purple toxic symbol on the back, and white and purple fur around the hood as well as black gloves and his signature painter's mask with a dark purple skull and crossbones covering the bottom half of his face.

Last was Damien who had light skin, metallic silver eyes, and brown hair with silver highlights, which was combed to the side. The boy wore a black coat with brownish-white fur lining hood and wide collar over a black long-sleeved shirt. He had dark blue skinny jeans held by a white belt with black skull buckle, and black Nike flats. White snow goggles with black glass hung from his neck, mostly just for style.

Victor's Pokemon laughed along as well, "Um! Um! Um!"

He rubbed his Pokemon's head and said, "Good job, Umbreon, that was hilarious!"

Dawn marched up to them and shouted, "You're all horrible people!" The other Eeveelutions all growled at Umbreon who returned with a snarl.

Victor stood up, "What are you going to do about it, runt?"

"Oh that's it!" Alex stormed over to him, guiding Dawn backwards with his hand, and getting in the taller boy's face.

Victor laughed, "Does my Raichu have to kick your Pikachu's ass again? Because I can call him out, if you want." By the look on Alex's face, Victor knew he hit a nerve. Dawn looked down to find Alex's fist balled up and placed her hands over to try and calm him down.

"What's your deal?" Alex asked. "All you jerks do is make everyone else miserable! No one needs this crap!"

Damien stood up, "And it's okay for the rest of the world to treat the Orre Region like garbage? Like we don't matter? Like we don't even exist?"

Stephen responded, "Will you shut up about the Orre Region already?! Just because things are bad where you're from, it doesn't give you any right to treat others horribly! In fact, it should teach you to be more compassionate to people."

"Why would I be _compassionate_ to a bunch of selfish brats that aren't _compassionate_ to others who need it and go about their day like nothing is wrong in the world? You ignorance is disgusting!"

Eric intervened, "Just because someone needs something doesn't mean they deserve. Especially when they push it away before it can even be offered. The reason you guys act this way is because you figure that if you push people away before they can hurt you, you won't get hurt. It's pathetic."

"It's amazing that Dean Blackthorn hasn't expelled you jerks already," Elesa added.

Felix responded, "She can't. We're here on full scholarships from the still rising Orre League so what message does it send to the rest of the world if she were to expel students from a still developing region?"

"That doesn't give you the right to act like a bunch of ten-year-olds with abandonment issues. I'd suggest you stop before you make the mistake of pissing off the wrong person."

Felix responded, "The only mistake I've made is not shutting you up a long time ago. You think that you're so high and mighty just because of that fancy stone and your class rank. I already embarrassed your buddy and I'll do the same to me." He looked at Brendan who wore a scowl on his face.

Takuya stepped forward, "Want to say that to me?"

Felix's smirk faded into a scowl. "You're quick to say that after you barely won."

"A win is a win."

"Guess you won't mind battling again to settle the score then."

"Bring it on then, frosting head." Felix's scowl grew more fearsome as he stood up and reached for a Poke Ball.

They heard a stern voice with a bit of a Kalosian accent call out, "Not in here you don't." The voice belonged to a tall, thin light skinned man with wavy blonde hair and calm golden eyes. The man was dressed in an expensive looking custom-made chef's uniform which had a patterned high collar, long sleeves which were folded backwards, and a dark blue and light blue neckerchief. His chef's status was confirmed by the spotless white apron.

Being in the heat of the moment, Alex and the others had not noticed that they had garnered a crowd, which was now parting for the blonde man to come through. The emerald-eyed boy heard Eric say, "Siebold…"

"Let me properly introduce myself, I am Siebold Falls, the head chef of this dining hall. I heard the commotion out here and decided to see what was going on, but to my dismay, I find students quarrelling. What is the issue?" A flurry of voices, mostly from Alex's side, tried to explain to him what was going on but he quickly stopped them all by raising his hand. "You." He pointed to May, because of the way she held the injured Eevee in her hands. "Why is that Pokemon injured?"

She pointed to Victor, "Because that jerk had his Umbreon use Confuse Ray on this poor, innocent Eevee!"

Siebold turned his attention to the Orrians and sternly said, "Ah yes, I know of you three. The ones who ruined the Halloween dance. The ones who attack Steven and started a fight with a freshman at the end of the last semester."

"That freshman was me, sir" Alex responded with a hand raised but lowered it when Siebold glared at him. He then mumbled, "Just saying…"

Siebold thought about it, "I do love myself a good battle, but not right now. We shall settle this during the first Battle Set of the semester. I will recommend it to Cynthia. You three, select your strongest battler."

Victor responded, "Well Damien has steel-types and Felix has poison-types which don't affect them so…"

"Choose." He cut the adolescent off. Felix and Damien both looked at Victor so he stepped forward. "Now select your opponent, but they cannot have a lower school rank than you.

Victor looked over his options, immediately crossing Alex, Jessica, and the other students in their grades off his list. He then looked through his options among the third years. _The girls are all lower ranks, Felix already wiped the floor with hat boy over there…I'd love to put Takuya in his place but that's Felix's fight so I guess I'll have to go with…_ "Eric."

His brownish-red eyes met crimson ones which glared back at him with hatred and determination. Espeon looked at Umbreon, ready to tear him limb-from-limb for what he did to her child. Eric was actually surprised she had not done so already.

Siebold spoke again, "Then it is settled. What are your names?" Without breaking eye contact, the boys responded.

"Eric Villagran."

"Victor Cruz."

"Then it is decided. In six days, the two of you will settle this quarrel in the Main Stadium." The tension between the two sides continued for a short while longer so Siebold told them, "You two, nor any of your friends, can do anything until Friday or else there will be consequences. Is that understood?"

Victor gave an arrogant smirk, "Loud and clear…"

Eric turned his body slightly, "Yeah…" He opened his hand to accept Skyla's and started walking away with her. Dawn tried to do the same with Alex but not before May handed him back Eevee.

"You should get her to a Pokemon Center to make sure she's okay."

"Yeah, thanks for your concern for her. I really appreciate it."

She gave him a warm smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Of course. She is like my grandchild after all." She then let her smile turn into a frown as she glared at Felix, Victor, and Damien as they walked away.

* * *

><p>A blonde, light skinned adolescent with ear-length wavy hair, scheming green eyes, and a beauty mark close to his jaw sat at one of the desks inside of the Samuel Oak Grand Library, scanning the laptop screen in front of him. He had a very fashionable style of dress consisting of a green polo shirt with vertical brown strips – a thick one going down both sides of the shirt with two thin stripes on both sides of them. His dress pants were dark gray and his dress shoes, black. A light gray zipper jacket kept him moderately warm and a wooden bead bracelet with a Keystone embedded in one of the beads claimed his left wrist.<p>

"Liam." He turned around to find Damien approaching him. The blonde had a calm exterior as he awaited the Orrian to continue. "Isn't it a little early in the semester to be in the library?"

"Do you see anyone else here?" Damien looked around and understood what Liam meant by that. "What can I do for you?"

"I need all the information you can get on Eric Villagran: all of his strategies, his Pokemon, their abilities, their moves, their weakness – and I'm not talking about typing-wise."

Liam smiled, "I heard about the little duel he and Victor will be having on Friday. That will definitely be a good one. I'll have to charge you a sixty – after all, it will be a much anticipated spectacle and you'd hate for Victor to be on the shorter end of it, right?"

Damien nodded reluctantly, "At least there's _one_ useful N–"

"Non-Orrian, yeah I know the routine already." Damien growled, making him chuckle.

"Just get me the information."

"Alright, pay me thirty up front and the rest when I give you the information." Damien dipped his hand into his back pocket, pulling out a black wallet. He searched through it and pulled out a total of thirty dollars before handing them over to the blonde fourth year. "You can expect it by Tuesday."

"No, stay up to date with him. Give me the file the day before the battle."

Liam nodded, slightly impressed by the tactic. "Didn't think you were that strategic but that can be done. I'll see you in five days."

Damien started walking away from Liam and simply responded, "Later."

**Things are getting intense! If you guys find it weird that a big event is happening so early in the book, it's because 1) You should consider it a direct continuation of the first book and 2) Because this will be much shorter and more plot heavier. Anyways, let me know what you think about this chapter in the reviews. Happy Holidays! I hope everyone spends today and tomorrow with the ones they love. Legacy, out!**


	3. Chapter 3: An Unlikely Ally Pt 1

**Hey everyone! I hope you all had a good Christmas! Legacy918 back with a new chapter of Pokemon Academy: Power of Chaos. So last time, we left off with Siebold arranging a battle between Eric and Victor, which we are all excited for.**

**Not Official Staff: Yeah, I like Liam too. It's the fact that we don't see much of him that makes him more attractive as a character.**

**Shinymudkip25: He is a pretty chill dude, isn't he?**

**OPFan37: Hey, no worries man, we're good.**

**Heart of the Anime: I don't know Heart. Who could she possibly be?**

**Alright, let's get on with it!**

**Chapter 3: An Unlikely Ally Pt. 1  
><strong>

Saturday: "Lucario, Aura Sphere! Espeon, Shadow Ball!" The two spheres of energy flew at neighboring trees and exploded, making them fall to the ground.

* * *

><p>Sunday: "Again! The blue-furred canine and violet-furred feline used the same attacks again.<p>

* * *

><p>Monday: "Again!<p>

* * *

><p>Tuesday: "Again!"<p>

* * *

><p>Wednesday: "Lucario, Ice Punch on Espeon. Dodge and use Psychic!" Lucario crashed down with an icy fist but Espeon moved out of the way. Upon landing, her eyes began glowing blue and Lucario was surrounded by thin layer of blue energy and lifted into the air before being thrown into a tree. "Propel yourself off and use Dark Pulse!" Lucario did as he was told and a wave of dark energy was released towards Espeon. "Jump and then another Shadow Ball!"<p>

Skyla placed a hand on a nearby tree as she watched Eric and his Pokemon train. A worried expression fell upon her face as she looked on with her sapphire eyes.

"He's at it again?" She turned around to find a head of blood red hair appear next to her.

She nodded, "Yeah. I'm worried about him, Takuya. This is the third day in a row that he comes here to train right after school."

"Yeah, me too. Friday just can't get here soon enough, can it? Come on, let's see if he'll take a break." She nodded and followed her friend until they were both behind Eric. "Hey, you want to take a break?" The shorter boy turned around to reveal a head of messy hair and a face covered in shallow stubble.

Eric held his hand up to look at his Xtransceiver to check the time as he responded, "I think I'll go for one more hou–" He looked up at the fading sky, then at his friend and girlfriend, "Wow has it really been three hours? I guess now would be as good a time for a break as any." He took two Poke Balls out and recalled Lucario and Espeon. "I think I can go for some coffee."

* * *

><p>The trio sat on the large comfortable couches inside of the Raticafé, drinking from their cups of coffee. Eric sat with his legs cross and an arm resting on the sofa behind Skyla who leaned her body against his. Takuya sat in a comfy chair as he drank the scalding liquid with no sign of discomfort from the intense heat.<p>

The hazel-eyed boy placed the empty cup on the table in front of them and asked, "Hey Eric, tell me something." Eric looked at him with confusion on his face. "You're higher in rank than Victor so why are you stressing this out so much?"

Eric looked forward, not really focusing on anything, and responded, "It's not that I'm preparing to beat him…I want to completely destroy him." The others were taken aback. "I'm seriously tired of all of the crap that he and his friends give everyone so I'm going to put them in their place…all of them."

"You know you don't have to do this alone." Eric felt a gentle hand grip his and turned to find Skyla with a sincere smile, causing him to smile back.

The crimson-eyed boy sighed, "It's good to know you guys have my back."

"Alright. So how about you take the rest of the night off, take a shower, and give yourself a nice shave."

Eric chuckled, "Alright, I'll do that."

He felt Skyla's hand underneath his chin as she guided him to face her and responded, "Well you don't _have_ to shave. I kind of like this." She rubbed the stubble on his chin and he laughed before giving her a kiss. She pushed him away and giggled, "But you definitely have to shower."

* * *

><p>Eric sat beside Brendan and May in his Pokemon Breeding Pattern Class while Professor Elm was preparing his lecture. As the students chattered on about meaningless things, Eric simply looked down at the Johto starter Pokemon that sat on the Professor's desk, minding their own business. Elm finally finished writing his notes on the board and turned around to face the class.<p>

"Alright class, time to get started." A few people directed attention to him but the majority was still talking.

May stood up, turned around, and yelled, "Shut up!" quieting her classmates and instilling fear in them in the process.

Elm adjusted his glass and cleared his throat, "Thank you, May. Okay, so today I have the three starter Pokemon from the Johto region. For a bit of a warm up, I'll be calling students at random and you will name one egg move that one of these Pokemon can learn when bred. Understood?" His response was a wave of uninterested nods. "Great! Alright, let's see…Brendan, name an egg move that Chikorita can get."

Brendan sat up and eyed the little grass-type, trying to come up with an answer. "Um…" He noticed May, indiscreetly pass him a note which he quickly glanced at and responded, "Leech Seed?"

Elm smiled, "That's correct!"

Brendan mouthed, "Thank you" to May, giving her a sense of pride for not only knowing the answer but also for being able to help her boyfriend. "Okay, how about you, Flannery? I know you like fire-types so we'll go with Cyndaquil."

"Umm, let's see…Fire Pledge?"

"Ooh, no, that's a move that it can learn through a Move Tutor."

"Darn." The fiery red-head slumped in her chair.

Eric heard someone mumble, "This is such a pointless exercise." He looked to the seat below him to find a girl with wavy brown hair that fell past her shoulders.

He leaned in a bit and responded, "What's the matter, Ava? Is this too elementary for you?"

The brunette turned around to reveal dark golden orbs and a beauty mark underneath them. Her porcelain skin was spotless, aside from the beauty mark. Her clothing was rather luxurious consisting of a light pink long-sleeve ruffled blouse tucked into her light brown knee-high pencil skirt, which had a slit in back. There were cream-colored buttons on her blouse and on the side of her skirt. She also had beige pumps, a cream-colored ruffled tie around her neck, a thin beige belt, pale pink tights, and a light brown choker with her Keystone embedded in it. Finally, a cream-colored button up sweater was wrapped around her waist.

She maintained her calm and proper demeanor as she responded, "Kindergarten, actually."

"Are you saying you can name all of the egg moves of all the Johto starters?"

"Is that a challenge?"

"Depends if you're willing to take it."

Ava turned around in her chair to look at the starter Pokemon then turned back and without missing a beat, responded, "Cyndaquil can learn: Covet, Crush Claw, Double Kick, Double-Edge, Extrasensory, Flame Burst, Flare Blitz, Foresight, Fury Swipes, Howl, Nature Power, Quick Attack, Reversal, and Thrash. Chikorita can learn: Ancient Power, Aromathera–"

"Okay, okay, I believe you." The brunette turned back around, holding her hands together on her desk, with a smug smile on her face. That is until she was pestered again.

"Hey, but if you know all of this, why are you even here at this academy?"

She turned around and glared at him with those golden eyes of hers, "That's none of your business." He looked back at her with unwavering crimson orbs, but remained silent, not really in the mood to argue. He already had one difficult girl to deal with and he did not need two. Ava simply turned back around and continued pretending to pay attention to Professor Elm.

* * *

><p>After all of his classes, Eric decided to do a bit more training and made an agreement with himself that afterwards, he'd make sure both he and his Pokemon got some rest to be in the best shape they could be for the next day. He reached his favorite place to train, which was easily identifiable by the fallen trees and ruined grass. It was not uncommon for students to train in the woods especially if they wanted to prepare for an upcoming battle or event.<p>

Upon reaching the site, he tossed his backpack against a nearby tree stump and took out two Poke Balls before throwing them into the air. Two flash of white light revealed a large red crawfish Pokemon and a lump of brown fur with tusks, known as Crawdaunt and Piloswine, respectively.

"You two ready for today's training?"

They nodded, "Crawdaunt!" "Pilo!"

"Alright, Crawdaunt, use Crab Hammer on Piloswine. Piloswine, dodge and use Ancient Power." A hurtle of levitating boulders were thrown at Crawdaunt. "Use Aqua Jet to dodge!" The crawfish Pokemon surrounded himself in water and dashed out of the way. "Follow up with Night Slash! Ice Fang!" Dark energy formed around Crawdaunt's pincer and Piloswine's tusks were encased in ice as the two collided. As the training proceeded, Eric felt like he was being watched. "Both of you, stop." The two Pokemon ceased their attacks and looked at their trainer who was now turning around to scan the nearby trees. There, he found a familiar face and sighed, "Come to provide me with more knowledge about starter Pokemon? Like where they can be found, because apparently no one knows except for the Professors. Or how about which parents are needed for a specific egg move for that Pokemon?"

Ava's golden eyes made their way to the battle-stricken area and back to him as she responded, "You're training out here?"

"Yeah, I'm getting ready for tomorrow's battle."

"Out in the forest where anyone can easily see your strategies?"

Eric's eyes narrowed. "What are you even doing here?"

"I'm on my way to my own training spot. It's much more private and subtle than this." Her pumps crushed the grass beneath them as she began walking. "Come. I feel like you need it right now." Not really sure what to make of this, Eric recalled his Pokemon, picked up his backpack, and followed the brunette with caution.

The two finally reached a white manor which had not been occupied in quite some time. There were chips in the walls, some of the brown plates on the ceiling had fallen off, the corners of windows were infested with cobwebs and vines were starting to sprout around the house. Upon seeing the building, Eric started to feel a bit light-headed so he closed his eyes and placed a hand on his forehead. Ava heard the crunching grass from behind stop so she turned around. "Are you okay?"

Eric lowered his hand and looked at her, "Yeah, just a bit of a headache. Are there onions around here? I'm allergic to them."

The brunette shrugged, "I don't know, maybe. You coming or what?"

"Yeah." _Thanks for the concern._

Without the need for a key, Ava twisted the doorknob and pushed it open. Inside, Eric found that the house was abandoned, but not empty. He noticed scratched and faded portraits on the walls, a mostly shattered chandelier hanging above head, and a dusty red carpet that led up a staircase that split into two and both led to the second floor. Ava walked towards a door to their left and opened it so Eric followed and founded that the mansion had an in-door Pokemon field.

Wide-eyed, he couldn't help but ask, "How did you even come across this place?"

"I've come here since Freshman year when I found it while exploring the island. As far as I know, no one else has come in here and that's probably because of that rumor that a girl stands in the second floor window looking out at people who pass by."

"And you haven't seen anything? Or did you just make that up so people wouldn't come here?"

"Neither. I legitimately haven't seen a ghost here. So do you want to get on with training or what?"

"You're going to train with me?"

"Did you really think I'd bring you here without wanting to train too? We'll do a bit of sparing. Two Pokemon each."

As he set his bag down, he responded, "Alright, let's go then." He unclipped a ball from his holster and threw it out. "Let's go Crawdaunt." Ava remained calm as she tossed out her Eelektross. "Ladies first."

"Eelektross, Charge Beam." Electricity started to form in the eel's mouth before being shot at Crawdaunt.

"Dodge with Aqua Jet!" Crawdaunt slipped past the beam and slammed into Eelektross.

"Discharge." Using the close proximity to her advantage, the eel shot off a wave of electric energy.

Crawdaunt was pushed back, but remained conscious. "You okay?" The water-type nodded. "Hit her with a Crab Hammer." Crawdaunt charged, but Ava was ready.

"Grass Knot." Surrounding herself in green energy, Eelektross circled around Crawdaunt and struck him before smoothly sliding off and dropping the crawfish Pokemon. "Next."

"Crawdaunt, return. Go Noibat." The tiny bat had trouble staying afloat but flapped his wings vigorously and maintained altitude.

Without even flinching, Ava continued the battle, "Eelektross, Charge Beam."

"Spiral around, then use Heat Wave." As the violet bat flew around the electric beam, he got in close and started flapping his tiny wings to produce a gust of hot wind, which was capable of knocking out Eelektross.

Ava's face portrayed indifference, but her interest was quite piqued. "Return. Go, Altaria."

"Dragon against dragon. I like that."

"Altaria, Aerial Ace." The humming Pokemon surrounded flew across the field surrounded by white energy.

"Air Slash!" Noibat flapped his wings to create a blade of wind which connected with Altaria, stopping him. "Draco Meteor." A ball of orange and violet light formed in Noibat's mouth before he fired it off to the top of the room. The sphere exploded and scattered into many projectiles which pummeled Altaria.

When the dust cleared, Altaria was on the floor unconscious. "Altaria, return. How does Noibat know those moves?" Noibat climbed onto Eric's shoulder as his trainer rubbed the top of his head.

"I know some people. People who know how to teach Pokemon powerful moves like Heat Wave and Draco Meteor."

"What about Air Slash? He should've evolved by now if he knows that move."

The tiny bat looked a bit depressed. "Noibat should have evolved a long time ago, but for some reason, he can't. That doesn't keep me from battling and training with him, though. If anything, he's become a bit of a trump card."

"I see, well since we're preparing you for tomorrow, I see a problem with your fighting style. And don't take it personally because everyone has their faults. Even me…"

"Yeah, I know that. The only way you can get strong is if you understand that lesson and move forward to keep improving. So what problem do you see?"

"You're caught off guard easily like when my Eelektross used Grass Knot or when Wesley's Charizard used Flare Blitz. You're Pokemon are pretty quick on their feet but you're not ready for the unexpected."

Eric nodded, "I see what you mean."

"But I can help you."

"How?"

"With some training. Bring out a Pokemon and we'll work with your reaction times." The brunette looked down at her belt to see which Pokemon she would use first.

"Okay, sounds good. Hey Ava…"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." A soft smile formed on her lips but she managed to hide it with the veil of brown hair that fell over her face.

* * *

><p>Alex's room was filled with darkness except for the flashing light coming from his laptop screen. He was lying on his bed while Dawn sat with her back against the wall and her legs over her boyfriend's. There was a bowl of popcorn resting on Alex's chest which he, Dawn, Pikachu, and Piplup were eating from as they all watched an episode of "Arrow" on Netflix.<p>

The episode concluded with the death of the protagonist's best friend and a section of the city in ruins making Dawn say, "Wow, that was intense."

"I know, I didn't think Tommy was going to die."

Pikachu's ears flopped, "Pika, pi."

Piplup looked down, "Plup."

Dawn looked at the time on Alex's laptop and said, "Sweetie, it's almost time for curfew and I still have to do Rowan's homework. I should be getting back to my room."

As they started getting up, he asked, "Alright, I'll walk you back."

"No, it's okay. Piplup and I can make it. Besides, I don't want you getting back late…again."

Alex laughed as they walked to the door, "Alright, be careful, okay?" He opened it for her and she nodded before giving him a kiss and heading back to her room.

As Alex sat back on his bed, he decided to check his email and with too much excitement to read in his head, he said aloud, "Dear Alex Arceo, blah, blah, blah, you have been selected for tomorrow's Battle Set! Blah, blah, blah, please select three Pokemon that you will use for tomorrow and report to the Challenger's Desk in the Main Stadium to register yourself and the Pokemon you will use. The Challenger's Desk is located on the first floor left of the South Entrance, blah, blah, blah. Alright! I get to battle tomorrow! Finally! My chance to kick some ass and show everyone what I'm made of! I've got to tell Dawn!" Forgetting that he could text her along with leaving his room key and Pokegear, Alex rushed out of the room and ran off to find his girlfriend.

Pikachu shook his head, "Pika, pika."

* * *

><p>"Good afternoon, Pokemon Academy!" Cynthia said with enthusiasm dripping from every word. "How was your Winter Break?" A roar of voices saying things like "Great!" and "Awesome!" filled the stadium, making the blonde dean chuckle. "Are you all glad to be back here?" The response was like music to her ears. "Great! So today, we'll be having our first Battle Set of this semester and do we have a line-up for you today?! How does that sound for a welcome back? Okay, so first up, we have two Freshman trainers."<p>

Alex sat in the dugout next to Stephen and Eric, with anticipation radiating from him. Stephen looked at his friend, "Excited much?"

"More like a ton! I want to be first so I can show my stuff!"

Cynthia continued, "Our two challengers will be Alex Arceo and Stephen Richards!"

Eric chuckled, "Well there you go."

The two green-eyed boys looked at each other, absolutely speechless, but that feeling soon went away as Stephen gave Alex a confident grin and nodded to his friend. Alex's excitement returned as he gave a nod as well and the two walked to their respective sides of the field so that the referee could state the rules. "This will be a three-on-three battle with no limit on substitutions and it will end when all three Pokemon on one trainer's side are unable to battle. Are both trainers ready?" They nodded. "Call out your first Pokemon." Stephen called out his Metang while Alex decided to lead with his Eevee. "Alex will have the first move. The battle between Alex Arceo and Stephen Richards will now begin!"

Dawn sat in the stands next to Serena, watching excitedly as her boyfriend was about to battle. Serena turned to her, "I wonder what kind of awesome moves Alex has taught Eevee."

Calem responded, "Whatever they are, I'm sure he'll surprise us all with them."

"Eevee, Baby-Doll Eyes!" The tiny pup looked at Metang with her large brown eyes which glistened with sparkles but the steel-type remained unfazed. The stadium erupted into laughter with the exception of Mark and the rest of his and Alex's friends who either groaned or face-palmed. "Eevee did you not look at it cute enough?"

She turned around and shrugged "Vee?"

Stephen calmly explained, "Metang's ability Clear Body prevents it from having any of his stats lowered so a move like Baby-Doll Eyes isn't going to work."

"Uh, right! Eevee, return. We'll give you a shot later. Let's show 'em our stuff, Pikachu."

"Pika!" The little mouse jumped off of Alex's shoulder and onto the dirt field.

"Metang, use Confusion!" Its eyes began glowing blue as a thin layer of blue energy formed around Pikachu and he was suddenly crying out while holding his head.

"Pikachu! You've got to break through! Use Thunder Shock!" The electric-type began charging his attack and managed to break through it with a bolt of lightning that struck Metang. "Alright, now follow up with Thunder Wave!" A wave of yellow energy paralyzed Metang.

"Use Take Down!" Metang was unable to move because of its paralysis.

"Electro Ball!" A sphere of electric energy formed at the end of Pikachu's tail before he spun and launched it at Metang, knocking it out. The crowd was left in shock that Alex could battle with such skill and strategy.

"Did this kid really just bust out a combo like that?!" Brendan asked with surprise on his face.

Elesa smiled, "Guess he's not all smiles and jokes."

Stephen recalled his Metang and threw out his Grovyle. "I'll admit, you caught me off guard, but beating me won't be that easy. Grovyle, use Quick Attack." Grovyle's incredible speed surprised Pikachu as he slammed into the yellow mouse and knocked him back.

"You alright, buddy?"

"Pika!"

"Thunder Wave!" Once again, Stephen's Pokemon was caught in paralysis. "Quick Attack!"

"Mega Drain, come on Grovyle!" The grass-type managed to break through and as Pikachu neared him, his energy was sapped, causing the mouse to fall passed him.

Alex ran onto the field and picked Pikachu up, "Hey buddy, you did awesome. Let's give you a good rest for now."

"Chu!" he whined.

"Alright, you're on, Pidgeotto!" The flying-type appeared, flapping her powerful wings. "Use Gust!" Unable to move, Grovyle was pummeled by the swirling winds and was knocked out. "Alright! Two down, one to go."

Stephen grinned, "Check mate."

"Checka-what-now?"

Stephen threw out one last Poke Ball and revealed it to be Electrike. "I've got type advantage and I'm pretty sure your Eevee doesn't have anything super effective against my Electrike."

"Doesn't matter, we'll still give it everything we've got." Pidgeotto cried out in confidence. "Use Twister, Pidgeotto!" She began flapping her wings as a tornado – violet in hue – wrapped around Electrike.

"Use Thunder Wave!"

"Oh crap baskets." Pidgeotto was paralyzed and unable to keep her altitude as jolts of static would occasionally appear over her feathers.

"Spark!" Electrike charged at Pidgeotto surrounding himself in electricity.

In one last hoorah, Alex called out, "Feather Dance!" and a ring of feathers appeared around Electrike just before he slammed into Pidgeotto and knocked her out. After returning the flying-type to her Poke Ball, Alex called out his Eevee. "You've got this Eevee!"

"Eevee!" she called out with a confident smirk as she got into her fighting stance.

"Electrike, Spark!"

"Baby-Doll Eyes!" As Electrike ran, he looked into her adorable eyes and his attack dropped even further. As he slowed down, Alex called out, "Sand-Attack!" Eevee kicked up some sand into Electrike's eyes. "Tackle, Tackle, Tackle!" Electrike was pummeled by a barrage of Eevee's weak attacks, which alone were nothing, but together, were adding up damage.

"Electrike, Bite!"

"Another Sand-Attack!" As Eevee ran around Electrike looking for blind spots, she kicked up more sand and continued her barrage until Electrike couldn't take it anymore and fell over, unconscious.

The referee raised his green flag, "And the winner is Alex Arceo!" The crowd erupted into cheering, with Dawn screaming out for her boyfriend. Alex looked at her and gave her one of his signature goofy smiles along with a thumbs-up before walking to Stephen to shake hands.

"Well Alex, I seriously thought I had this in the bag, but you proved me wrong. Good job."

"Hey, it wasn't easy. I didn't think we could pulled it off either, right Eevee?"

She raised her chest and smiled confidently, "Vee!"

"Well _I_ didn't think we could pull it off" Alex restated.

As they took their seats, Cynthia walked to the center of the field, "Wasn't that an amazing battle? I was definitely surprised by the outcome. Okay, so now let's get on with our next match!"

* * *

><p>As the battles went on, Eric kept his calm exterior, but on the inside, he was ready to unleash everything he had on Victor. He had noticed that Siebold was sitting with Cynthia and the Professors, no-doubt excited to see the battle that he had set up.<p>

After the fifth battle, Cynthia took center-field again and said, "Well today's battles were amazing, weren't they? What's that we still have one more?" Sarcasm was evident in her voice. "You're right! So this final battle was arranged by the head chef of the dining hall, Siebold Falls, and it is between two third-years with very high ranks. Please come to the field, Victor Cruz and Eric Villagran!"

Eric and Victor stood up from the bench and walked to their respective sides of the field. With the audience cheering in the background, the two boys glared at each other, Victor wearing a cocky smirk while Eric maintained a straight face. The referee went over the rules, but Eric did not bother listening as he eagerly waited for the battle to begin.

"Call out your first Pokemon." Both trainers unclipped a Poke Ball from their belts and tossed them out onto the field. On Eric's side was his Piloswine while on Victor's was a bipedal crocodile-like Pokemon with reddish-brown scales with a black pattern running through his body. "Victor will have the first move. The battle between Victor Cruz and Eric Villagran will now begin!"

**Well, you guys FINALLY got what you've been asking for, Alex battling in a Battle Set. Are you happy, you savages? Just kidding, I'm happy that I finally put him in too. Anyway, the battle between Eric and Victor, is on! Who will win? Find out on the next chapter of Pokemon Academy: Power of Chaos! Leave your questions, comments, concerns, remarks, rebuttals, inquiries, and general thoughts in the review. I hope everyone has a happy New Years! I'll see you all next year! Legacy, out!**


	4. Chapter 4: An Unlikely Ally Pt 2

**How's it going, everyone?! I know I just posted Chapter 3 but I could not resist writing this chapter because I've been just as excited as all of you for the battle between Eric and Victor! I decided to make this a Three Chapter Mini Arc called An Unlikely Ally as Ava played a large role last chapter and will appear in both this chapter and the next one. There weren't as many reviews as I am accustomed to, but that's perfectly fine because of the Holidays and traveling and spending time with the family and all that good stuff.**

**Ultimate Glaceon456: There teams have already been pre-selected.**

**Chapter 4: An Unlikely Ally Pt. 2**

Everything was silent while Eric and Victor glared at each other, blocking out the sound of the roaring crowd in the background. All that mattered in this moment was the battle and neither was planning on losing in front of all of these people. Eric noticed something strange about Victor's Krookodile, though. It was wearing a blue scarf around his neck and he remembered Victor selecting it as his prize from the Halloween Dance. He thought nothing of it, though.

"Krookodile, use Crunch!" The crocodile's fangs began glowing as he ran towards Piloswine.

"Ice Shard!" A cool mist formed in the air around Piloswine and icy projectiles were shot at Krookodile.

"Dodge." With blinding speed, Krookodile was able to easily dodge the onslaught of sharp icicles as he continued approaching Piloswine. The crocodile reached the Swine Pokemon and bit down on him, making him flinch.

"Ice Fang!" Piloswine was still recovering from the flinch so Krookodile bit him one more time, knocking him out.

"W-what?" was all Brendan could say.

Takuya said, "All of the training that Eric did for this to happen? How?"

May turned to them, "It's just a minor setback. Come one Eric, beat this jerk!"

Victor grinned, "What's the matter? Didn't think my Pokemon would be that strong?" Eric simply recalled Piloswine and reached for his next Poke Ball. "By the way, you look stupid with those baby hairs on your face."

"Let's go, Lucario."

"Are you going to use your Mega Evolution now? Go ahead, I'll still beat it. It'll only make me look better."

Eric scoffed, "I only use Mega Evolution against an opponent that can use it too." Victor recalled his Krookodile and brought out another Pokemon, called Spiritomb. Its appearance was of a beige relic with a swirling vortex of spirits coming out of it. "As I thought. That scarf around Krookodile's is a Choice Scarf. It gives him incredible speed but he can only use one move."

"So you were only testing to see if your prediction was right."

"Lucario, Dark Pulse." A wave of dark energy came from Lucario, hitting Spiritomb.

"Use Ominous Wind!" The spirit Pokemon flinched, giving Eric and Lucario another opportunity.

"Dark Pulse!" Lucario fired off another wave that pushed Spiritomb back. "Bullet Punch!" His fist became metallic as he dashed across the field and punched the vortex of spirits, knocking it out.

Damien punched the palm of his hand, "What's he doing out there?! He knows all of Eric's plays!"

"Relax" Felix replied. "Some things you can't control, like a flinch. Victor still has the advantage as long as he has Krookodile."

Victor called Krookodile out again, but Eric saw what he was up to and recalled Lucario, deciding to go into Noibat, instead. Victor laughed, "What's this runt going to do? Nibble on us to death?"

Noibat started yelling at him, "Noi! Noibat! Noi!"

"Noibat." He turned to look at his trainer. "Don't let him get to you."

The violet-furred bat nodded, "Noi!"

"Noibat, use Air Slash!" He began flapping his wings to generate a blade of air.

"Dodge, then use Stone Edge." Sharp stones began to float around Krookodile before being sent across the field towards Noibat before the Air Slash could even make it halfway across.

"Roost!" The tiny bat landed, losing his flying-typing to lessen the damage he would've taken.

"Stone Edge again!"

"Draco Meteor!" Before the jagged rocks reached Noibat, he shot a sphere of orange and purple light into the air which exploded and crashed down on Krookodile. Unfortunately, the Stone Edge was able to knock Noibat out and Krookodile still stood after the Draco Meteor.

"Noibat, return. You did a great job. Let's go Crawdaunt!" The large crawfish Pokemon landed on the field with a thud, kicking a bit of dust into the air.

"Krookodile, return." _I can still make use of that Choice Scarf_. "Let's go Raichu." The fat orange mouse looked to his left where he found Pikachu and looked at him with an arrogant smirk as static appeared from his cheek pouches. The yellow mouse looked back at him with a serious look on his face, also charging static in his cheeks. "Raichu, use Volt Switch!" The fat rat threw a ring of electricity that made contact with Crawdaunt, forcing a red and yellow ribbon hidden in his pincer to shine. This item allowed Crawdaunt to withstand the hit, but Raichu was able to return to Victor. "Now go Umbreon!"

_Damn it, he broke our Focus Sash. We might as well hit him with a priority move, now._ "Aqua Jet!"

Victor grinned as he called out, "Sucker Punch!" As the water-encased Crawdaunt dashed across the field, Umbreon's paw began glowing purple, before catching the water-type in a blind spot and hitting him. The large crawfish fell over unconscious and continued sliding across the dirt.

Brendan shot up from his seat, "Did he just play, Eric?! It's like he knew that Crawdaunt had a Focus Sash with him!"

Takuya's eyes drifted down to where Victor's friends, Felix and Damien sat at, watching exactly what they were doing. Perhaps they were cheating by speaking into Victor's ear or maybe they spied on Eric while training. Whatever it was, Takuya knew they must be cheating so he decided to investigate.

Elesa watched as her friend left his seat. "Hey, where are you going?"

Brendan innocently added, "Just because it looks rough, doesn't mean he's going to lose."

"I know, but I really need to use the restroom. I'll be right back." The others did not question him further and he left the stands.

* * *

><p>Ava sat, watching the battle, with her legs crossed and her delicate hands placed gently one her knee. She too found Victor's play a little <em>too<em> well executed, as if he knew that Crawdaunt was carrying the Focus Sash, which she only knew from training with Eric and seeing his tactics firsthand. She stood up from her seat and walked into the hallway that circled around the battle field and stands. She walked through the halls, not really looking for someone, but more waiting for that someone to find her.

There was no one in front of her, but she stopped and waited for him to say something. "Looking for me, sis?"

Ava turned around slowly and glared at the blonde boy with her cold dark golden eyes, looking into his carefree green orbs. "Half-sister," she corrected. "How did Victor know that Eric's Crawdaunt was carrying a Focus Sash?"

Liam's lips curved into a sly smirk as he responded, "I know you're not a customer, but I charge for information." He held his hand out, but Ava was not amused.

She unhooked a Poke Ball from her belt and held it with her thumb and index finger, "Do I have to beat it out of you?"

Liam wanted to let out a chuckle, but preferred not to provoke her into doing something rash, "Now, now. Why should we resort to something so unnecessary and time-consuming?" The look on her face would have stricken fear into most, but he was on the verge of laughter. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you know the answer to your question."

"Getting paid to do research on Eric and giving the information to his opponent? Do you have any honor?"

"Strong, weak, winner, loser…who cares about all of that? At the end of the day, I get to go into town to buy myself a little something nice." Liam's eyes shifted to her sides and she turned around to find Felix and Damien blocking her path. "Besides, it's not like you'll be able to help your little boyfriend out now."

She whipped back around, "Excuse me?!" A hue of pink spread across her cheeks.

Liam laughed as he took a few steps towards her, "I know that you trained with him, little sister, and right now, you feel like you're failing him because you can't help him out. Did you really think that spending a little bit of time with Eric would make him like you?" He lifted her chin to look up at him. "Let me remind you that Eric has a girlfriend and also that there's a reason why you don't have friends. One: because of your explosive temper. Two: because you're cold to anyone and everyone you meet." He could see her giving her best effort not to let her eyes well up with tears. "And three: because your obsession with impressing dad is your number one priority but you've already accepted that I've already w–" She could not take hearing one more second of this so she swatted his hand away and began running down the hall, drops of tears hitting the floor. Felix and Damien started walking, but Liam held up his hand to make them stop. "Let her go…besides, you've got a payment to make for keeping her busy. And I'll charge you an extra five bucks for breaking her. Oh, and you've got one more problem to worry about."

Takuya had his back to the wall, eavesdropping on everything that had transpired, but his heart stopped upon hearing Liam's last words. He heard a pair of footsteps getting louder and he quickly started running back into the stands. He began weaving through the sections of seats, to try and lose them but after five minutes of running, he realized there was no one chasing him. Instead, he found Felix and Damien seated near Cynthia. _The bastards won't let me get to her_. _I'll have to think of something, but in the meantime…_ He looked at the field below, _you either hang on or win, Eric_.

* * *

><p>"Let's go, Lucario!" the Aura Pokemon landed on the dirt field, ready to fight some more. He wanted to put Victor and his team of misfits in their places just as much as Eric did. Victor recalled his Umbreon and brought out a Pokemon with orange scales, loose yellow skin, and a red Mohawk-like set of scales on top of his head. "Aura Sphere!" Lucario charged his aura into a sphere and launched it at Scrafty.<p>

"Dragon Dance!" A cloud of red and blue energy spiraled around Scrafty, but Victor sacrificed his Pokemon's health for that boost in attack and speed. "Now use High Jump Kick!" Scrafty jumped into the air and came down on Lucario with incredible speed.

"Dodge!" Lucario managed to dodge roll in time, but Scrafty was able to hit his leg, crippling the blue canine. The combination of Aura Sphere coupled with the recoil from missing High Jump Kick resulted in an unconscious Scrafty.

"Scrafty, return! Go, Krookodile!" Eric now realized that Victor was not planning on defeating Lucario with Scrafty, but wanted to at least cripple him so that Krookodile could come in and clean up. A sinister smile fell upon Victor's lips as he commanded, "Earthquake." Krookodile raised his foot and brought it down onto the field.

"Lucario, you've got to dodge! Aura Sphere on the ground!" Fighting through the pain, Lucario shot a sphere of blue energy to propel himself into the air before Earthquake could hurt him. "Now use Aura Sphere on Krookodile from above!" The blue sphere came down, but Krookodile managed to dodge it. Without being told to, Lucario desperately shot a barrage of Aura Spheres at Krookodile, having all of them miss.

As the canine descended, Victor said, "Earthquake when he lands." Krookodile nodded with a blood-thirsty smile.

Just as Lucario, was about to land, Krookodile stepped on the ground and Eric called out, "Propel yourself towards him with Aura Sphere!" Lucario shot at the ground at an angle. "Ice Punch!" As he neared Krookodile, the canine's fist became encased in ice as he swung it, punching the dark-type directly in the stomach. The attack sent Krookodile flying across the field, and knocked him unconscious. The crowd's excitement rose because of Eric's play, and the loudest of these cheers were from his friends. Eric could not help but smile as Victor recalled Krookodile, impressed by his and Lucario's display.

Victor gripped his next Poke Ball firmly, "You've only defeated _one_ of my strongest Pokemon. From here on out, it'll be Distortion World for you. Go, Raichu! Put the mutt out of his misery with Thunderbolt."

_He's not going down without a fight!_ "Lucario, Aura Sphere!" While on a knee, the Aura Pokemon charged his attack and threw it at Raichu. The two attacks flew past each other and connected with their targets, throwing dust into the air. When the clouds had passed, Lucario was unconscious, but Raichu was still ready to battle. "Lucario, return. I couldn't have asked for any more from you. Let's go, Ninetales!" Eric threw out his next Poke Ball to reveal a silver-furred fox with blue tips at the end of each of her nine tails. When she appeared, a dazzling shine appeared around her.

Alex was on the edge of his seat. "Whoa! Is that really a Ninetales?!"

"That's impressive" Stephen stated. "It seems that Eric has a _Shiny_ Ninetales."

"What does Shiny mean?"

"I've heard that there's a strange phenomenon in Pokemon where in rare instances, an individual will have an abnormal color on their skin, fur, scales, feathers, or whatever their body is covered in."

"Really?! That's so awesome!" As soon as Ninetales touched the field, the stadium began to feel hotter. "Why is it so hot though?"

With sweat already beginning to trickle down Stephen's skin, he responded, "I think that's Ninetale's ability."

"What 'Move the Sun Closer'?"

"No, Drought."

The majestic fox looked at her opponent across the field from her with her piercing red eyes. "Ready Ninetales?" She nodded and let out a cry. "Use Flamethrower!" She opened her mouth to let out a blast of flames.

"Dodge, then use Volt Tackle!"

Raichu surrounded himself in electricity and ran across the field. As he grew closer, Eric called out, "Will-O-Wisp!" Multiple tiny spheres of purple flames appeared in a ring in front of Ninetales before being launched at Raichu. Feeling the burn, Raichu did not put as much power into his attack but still rammed into the fox Pokemon, damaging her a bit. "Flamethrower!" The flurry of flames hit Raichu and knocked him out.

"Raichu, return. Go Tyranitar!" The monstrous green dinosaur landed on the ground with a loud thud, throwing dust into the air. His ability, Sand Stream covered the field in a vicious sand storm and blocked out the intense sunlight. "Thunderbolt!" A bolt of electricity flew at Ninetales.

"Dodge!" She managed to jump out of the way. _This sandstorm and Tyranitar's typing completely nullify all of Ninetale's attacking moves._ "Will-O-Wisp!" The purple-flamed orbs hit Tyranitar, inflicting him with a burn as well, but not before Ninetales was pummeled by the raging sand.

"Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!" The titanic Pokemon opened his mouth and unleashed a white blast of concentrated energy which momentarily cut through the sandstorm and hit Ninetales directly. The silver fox collapsed onto the ground so Eric recalled her.

He sighed as he looked at his final Poke Ball. "It's all up to you…go! Espeon!" The split-tailed violet cat appeared on Eric's side of the field, with nothing on her mind but the resolve to win. "Espeon, Dazzling Gleam!" She lifted her head and let out a cry as the ruby gem on her forehead shined brightly through the sandstorm and hit Tyranitar. The titan still stood but was unable to move after Hyper Beam. "Again, Espeon." All Victor could see behind his massive Pokemon was a bright white flash followed by Tyranitar falling backwards.

The crowd looked on in excitement as Victor called out his final Pokemon. "Let's finish this, Umbreon."

Alex, who was sitting with Eevee on his lap, told the pup, "Are you rooting for your mom?"

"Vee!" she cried out confidently as her tail wagged.

"Excuse me, but what are you all doing down here?" Eric and Victor heard Cynthia's voice and turned to see what was going on.

* * *

><p>Elesa shot up from her chair, "They did what?!"<p>

Skyla glared at Victor, and then at his friends, "Ooh, I know those rotten jerks wouldn't fight him fairly. I'm going to tell Dean Blackthorn!"

She got up but Takuya stopped her from going anywhere, "And tell her what? We don't have any evidence."

"We can't just let the fight continue" Brendan responded. "If Eric loses because Victor knows his strategies and then we go around saying that Victor and his friends cheated, no one will believe us because they'll think that we're only saying that because our friend lost."

Elesa sighed, "You don't think I could just pay Liam to admit what he did?"

Takuya shook his head, "As much of a Scrooge as he is, I don't think he'd sell himself out. Brendan, are you up for a bit of revenge?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come with me. We'll settle this all together." Takuya led Brendan and the others down to the ground level of the stadium and upon exiting the entrance to the field, Felix and Damien left their seats to approach them.

"Can we help you?" the purple-haired teen asked.

Takuya stepped up to him, "We know what you jerks did and we want you to confess to the dean."

"We ain't confessing shit!" Damien responded.

"And trying to get us to say it while you all have your devices on record isn't going to work," Felix added, flatly.

"Fine then, how about we settle it here and now?" Takuya challenged. "We step onto the field with our friends and have a three-on-three battle with each of us using one Pokemon. We win, you confess."

Damien scoffed, "And why would we do that? In a few minutes, Victor's going to win and there isn't anything you can do to change that. Your cocky piece of shit friend is going to become a nobody after this."

"Oh you lying cheat! That's it!" Brendan yelled as Takuya held him back.

"Excuse me, but what are you all doing down here?" They all turned to find Cynthia standing before them with Professors Oak and Rowan on either side of her. "None of you should be down here now please return to your seats."

"Dean Blackthorn, we've got to tell you something important!" Brendan yelled out.

Takuya shook his head and tried to suppress his friend, "We don't have evidence."

"I don't care! We have to tell her! Whether she believes us or not is up to her, but she deserves to know."

"You better shut your fac–" Damien began, but Felix gripped his arm tightly and glared at him.

Cynthia gave him a suspicious look before turning back to Brendan. "Okay, so what do you have to tell me?"

All eyes were on Brendan, but his shifted to find that Eric's battle had stopped. He looked directly into his friend's crimson eyes then back at Cynthia's metallic silver eyes and continued, "Takuya overheard Liam talking to some girl, named Ava, in the hallway about how he was paid by these dirtballs to dig up information on Eric so that Victor could know all of his strategies for today's battle. We don't have any evidence, but you can't ignore the fact that Victor has been one step ahead of Eric this whole battle! He just somehow 'predicted' Crawdaunt to be holding a Focus Sash? Don't you find it odd that one of the best students in my class is struggling against someone like five ranks lower than him after training every single day until curfew since Saturday?"

Cynthia thought about what the adolescent said and responded, "It all does add up, but without any hard evidence, it would not be right for me to believe you."

Takuya responded, "With all due respect, Dean, those three don't exactly spend their weekends raising money for charity. They have a history for causing trouble. Remember the dance? Did Siebold tell you that Victor had his Umbreon use Confuse Ray on Alex's Eevee just because he thought it'd be funny? These are horrible people that shouldn't be here anymore if they're going to continue mistreating others just because we come from a different region."

Cynthia looked at the two Orrians that were there, caught in an internal war that had existed for a long time between reputation and justice. "Look, I–"

"Security camera." They all turned to find Ava standing at the entrance with her arms crossed and a determined look on her face. Her eyes were a bit red, indicating that she had been crying, but there was a seriousness to them, that overshadowed remnants of tears.

"Excuse me?" the Dean asked.

"There are security cameras all over this stadium _and_ in the library where Liam prefers to spend his time. I'm not sure if there's any sound but I'm positive that there are only a few things that can be going on in them." Cynthia looked back at her with analyzing silver eyes, wondering if this was really worth the time. "Please. How would you feel if you were to let this match continue without knowing the truth?"

Cynthia sighed before going to speak into the microphone. "Attention all students, there has been a new development that requires immediate investigation. We will take a thirty-minute intermission so feel free to get up, stretch, go to the restroom, or anything you'd like but do not leave the stadium. I will be back and I expect you all to be seated when I return."

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, Cynthia returned with Siebold, Oak, and Rowan and discussed what they saw with the other professors. After coming to an agreement, Cynthia took to the center of the field and began speaking. "Okay, so after reviewing tapes found both in this building and the Oak Library, it has become evident that some sort of deal was settled between two students in which one would conduct research on Eric Villagran and give it to the other in exchange for money." Fire was burning in Eric's crimson irises as he glared at Victor who, for the first time, felt a bit of fear from looking into them. The brunette shifted his eyes to look at Cynthia. "Eric, I apologize to you for being cheated of a victory that would clearly be yours. Victor, you are disqualified from this match–"<p>

"No." Her gaze shifted to Eric with confusion spread across her face. "We're going to settle this here and now. We both have one Pokemon left so it's a fair one-on-one."

"Are you sure?" Cynthia asked.

Eric's glare returned to Victor. "Positive."

She nodded, "Okay, well this match will continue as normal, but when it is finished, Victor Cruz, Felix Monkswood, Damien Cortez, and Liam Wentworth will report to my office." She looked at the referee and gave him a nod.

The ref raised both flags as both trainers called out their final Pokemon. "The battle between Victor Cruz and Eric Villagran will now continue!"

He waved the flags down and Eric wasted no time in starting his assault. "Dazzling Gleam!" Espeon pounced forward while her gem lit up and a bright flash knocked Umbreon back.

Victor looked to the referee, "Is that allowed?" The referee looked the other way as Victor muttered underneath his breath, "Bastard." He brought himself back to the battle. "Umbreon, Confuse Ray!" The dark-type let out a flashing orb that drifted towards Espeon but she easily dodged it and continued running towards Umbreon.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Another bright flash knocked him back and he was soon met with a stinging pain to his side as Espeon rammed into him. Umbreon struggled to get back up as Espeon growled at him, urging him to stand. As the dark-type returned to his feet, Espeon let out another Dazzling Gleam. At this point, Eric had stopped giving commands as he allowed his Pokemon to get justice for her child.

"Umbreon, Sucker Punch!" His paw began glowing dark purple as he swung it at Espeon but she swiftly dodged and hit him with another Dazzling Gleam. Umbreon did his absolute best to get back up, urging his legs to straighten out. He looked up to find Espeon towering over him with a solemn look on her face and the last thing he saw was a bright flash form the red gem on her forehead.

The referee raised his red flag and announced, "Umbreon is no longer able to battle! Eric Villagran is the winner!"

The crowd went absolutely berserk as people ran onto the field to congratulate Eric on his victory. "Out of the way! The winner's girlfriend coming through! Move it!" Skyla managed to break through the crowd as she jumped into her boyfriend's arms and planted a passionate kiss on his lips.

As they separated, Eric looked into her eyes and smiled, "Thanks for the support, hun." She smiled back at him sweetly as others patted his back and cheered. Eric's eye shifted to find Victor walking away with his hands in his pockets and his head hanging low. Despite being at a disadvantage, Eric's victory brought with it repentance for all that Victor and his friends had done, for the pride that they held so highly was now crushed.

**And that's the end of that! Or is it? Find out next chapter! Anyways, this time for real, I will see you all in the new year because I will try to post the last chapter of this Mini Arc (which is more of a conclusion for this arc) right after Midnight on the 1****st****. Trust me, I'll be up so it's no bother and I'll be able to do it in the privacy of my cousin's room. Remember to leave your questions, comments, concerns, remarks, rebuttals, inquiries, and general thoughts in the reviews. This time for sure I'll see you in the new year! Legacy, out!**


	5. Chapter 5: An Unlikely Ally Pt 3

**Heyo! Legacy918 bringing you the final chapter in our "An Unexpected Aly" Mini-Arc which will be closing it. I'm terribly sorry for the lag! I thought I would have this chapter done by the 31****st**** before we went to my aunt's but that didn't happen so I've been busy since then. Please accept my dearest apologies, my wonderful readers.**

**Light13110: I'm familiar with competitive battling so I know what sets work for which Pokemon. That being said, Victor is a submitted OC which means that the Pokemon and their moves were selected by Victor's creator. Besides, not every Pokemon will have competitive sets because it wouldn't make sense for any of them to have transfer moves and most shouldn't have egg moves.**

**Now unfortunately, I start classes next week so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update for this story next, but I wanted to make sure that I got this chapter done for your guys. I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: An Unexpected Ally Pt. 3**

The morning fog cloaked the campus in a gray blanket as Felix, Victor, and Damien stood in quad – two of the three boys had their luggage with them. The purple-haired teen looked from left to right at his friends and swallowed, not really knowing what to say. He had never been good at goodbyes because there was no one he cared about enough to say it too, but now that his friends were leaving, he felt a sense of guilt for not being able to do anything to prevent it.

Felix looked to his left to find Cynthia standing by the auditorium entrance, leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed. He turned back to his friends and held a hand out to them which they both accepted. With a sigh, the purple-haired teen said, "I feel like I should be going on that bus with you two. I knew about what was going on and didn't do anything to stop it."

Damien shook his head, "No, man. You need to stay to represent Orre and become stronger than all the losers here."

Victor nodded, "Even I'll admit, I probably shouldn't have cheated. Or at least have been more subtle with the information I had," he joked. "But now it's up to you. See you around, man."

"Later," Damien added. Felix nodded as he watched his friends put their luggage on the bus and board it. He stood there watching until the large yellow vehicle was out of sight.

Cynthia approached the boy and spoke, "You're training session with your student will begin on Monday at three o'clock. Where do you want him to meet you?"

Felix shrugged, "I don't care. Just tell him to meet me by the Gold Stadium." He walked off, not waiting for a response from her. All he could think about at the moment was what he would do to Liam if he ever got his hands on him.

* * *

><p><em>Cynthia sat in her office, looking from left to right at the three boys that sat in front of her, as they all waited for one more to show up. Having waited fifteen minutes already, she decided to close the door to her office and begin speaking.<em>

"_Well it seems Liam will not be joining us so I will have to speak to him later." She took a seat and sighed, "When Professor Krane first sent Victor here I accepted because I thought that it would be good for you to study here and master your abilities so that you could return to the Orre Region and give it a better future. You didn't really talk to the other students but I felt that you still needed to be in a social environment to eventually break out of your shell." She paused for a moment to think about the next thing she would say. "When Professor Krane saw how well you did your first year, he sent two more students and I thought it a fantastic idea so that you could have people that you could relate with and you wouldn't be completely alone. I didn't think the three of you would fuel each other with such negative energy and be rude to very nice kids that don't deserve it."_

_Damien stood up, "Don't deserve it?! They don't know how good they have it! You don't know about all of the Shadow Pokemon and criminals that are overrunning our region and these spoiled brats dream about going on journeys and worry about stupid things like their love lives when some people have real problems!"_

_Cynthia allowed the boy to speak, but now it was her turn. "Let's be honest with ourselves, Damien, what do you want from them? Do you want them to be as miserable as you? Is it really their fault that they weren't born in the Orre Region? Or do you just envy them for not having those worries?"_

_Damien growled, "I don't need this crap!" He stood up from his seat and went to the door only to be greeted by a large man who gestured with his hand for the adolescent to return to his seat._

_Cynthia shook her head, "You're right, you don't need this crap and neither do I which is why you are expelled for paying Liam to get information on Eric and for all of the trouble you've caused other students. Did you ever think about how if you made friends with students from other regions, they would want to help? Or that if some of those students became champions, they'd try to reach out to the Orre Region? As the Sinnoh Master Champion and Dean of Pokemon Academy, there's only so much I can do for you so I thought that by accepting you into this school and letting your early-staged Pokemon League pay for your education, we could give you the skills and knowledge you'd need to save your region, but unfortunately, it hasn't turned out that way. You may now leave, but tomorrow morning, a bus will take you to the dock and I will personally pay for the first boat back to Orre." With nothing left to be said, Damien exited the room._

_She turned her attention to Victor now, "Would you like to say anything, before I continue?" Victor shook his head, since he had already accepted his punishment. "Victor, you too are expelled for cheating. Whether you were pressured to by Damien or not, you still broke the rules. You may go pack up your stuff because tomorrow, you will be going on that bus with Damien and then on that boat." Victor solemnly stood up from his seat and looked over at his friend. Felix could see the defeat and failure in his eyes. The black-haired boy exited the room, leaving Cynthia and Felix alone._

"_What was the point of sending us off one by one if you're just going to expel us?"_

"_Because, I'm not expelling you."_

_A doubtful looked crept on his face, "You're not?"_

"_No. Even though you did know about this and did nothing to stop it, I've noticed that of the three of you, you are the least – how to say – impulsive. You're very level headed and I feel that without Victor and Damien here, you could really become a part of something bigger." Felix eyed her suspiciously while she took a brief pause to see if he had anything to say. "I will give you a responsibility. For the rest of the quarter, you are to mentor a Freshman student, helping him train and giving him insight in both battle and his classes. You are to meet with him either every Monday through Thursday in Professor Ivy's classroom after school for about thirty minutes and there must be teaching and learning going on."_

"_Can't I just go on that boat, tomorrow?"_

"_No, this is your punishment, but it can also be a learning experience for you. It all depends on how you go about this."_

_Felix sighed, "Okay, so then who's the brat that I'll be 'mentoring'?"_

_She pressed a button on her telephone and said, "Nancy, is the first year student I requested here?"_

_A nasally voice responded, "Yes, would you like me to send him in?"_

"_Yes. Thank you." There was an awkward silence between the dean and student until the door finally opened to reveal Mark._

_The crimson-eyed boy held onto the doorknob as he noticed Felix. "Um, am I in trouble?"_

_Cynthia smiled, "No, he is. Mark, you have a Gastly, don't you?"_

"_Yeah?" He said, not really sure what she was thinking._

"_Great! Then, Felix, Mark will be your new apprentice."_

"_What?!" they both yelled out in unison – Mark from shock and Felix out of anger._

_Mark timidly responded, "Um, do you really think it's a good idea for him to be my mentor? I mean he does hate my brother."_

"_I'm glad you caught onto the poetic justice."_

"_I'm not doing it." Felix stated flatly._

"_It's either him or Alex."_

_Felix let out a groan, "Fine."_

"_Great! Mark, you will meet him every Monday through Thursday in Professor Ivy's room after school. Understood?"_

_Mark replied sullenly, "Y-yes ma'am."_

"_You may both leave."_

_Felix quickly stood up from his seat and walked passed Mark. "I'll see you later, Hollister. Don't be later, or else."_

* * *

><p>Eric tossed a tennis ball against the ground as he and Brendan walked through the Student Activities Center. Seeing as how their girlfriends took the day to go shopping in town with Elesa, they felt like watching one of the professional League matches and getting something to eat while they were at it.<p>

Brendan was beyond excited, "You finally got rid of those punks, man! This is awesome! You know what? Smoothies and burgers on me."

Eric sighed, "I didn't get _rid_ of them. They did this to themselves."

"Why aren't you, you know, more happy that they'll never bother us, your little brother, or his friends ever again?"

"Because of where they're going now. They might think that no one knows what they're going through but I'm not ignorant. I've read up on articles about the Shadow Pokemon and the terrible condition that Orre is in and it just sucks that they didn't take advantage of the opportunity they got to be able to obtain the power to improve their home."

"You can't do anything about that, though, well not until you become a champion."

"I know bu–" As he approached a corner, Eric bumped into someone, but his reflexes quickly caught them by their wrist and shoulder. Upon looking into the brunette's golden eyes, he realized that it was Ava that he had bumped into. As she regained her balance, he asked, "Hey are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yes. Thank you."

"No, I should be the one thanking you because of everything you did for me. You trained with me and you helped prove Victor and his friends as cheaters."

Ava could not help but let a small smile slip. "I just didn't think it was right for you to battle at a disadvantage."

Eric smiled, "Well thanks anyway." She nodded and continued walking. "Hey, what are you doing right now?"

She was confused by his question. "I was just going to do some homework in my room."

"You've got the rest of today and all of tomorrow for that. We're going to watch a match in the food court. Do you want to come? Brendan's treating."

"Yeah! It's going to be Marshall against–" He realized what his friend did and complained, "Hey!"

Ava let out a little giggle before clearing her throat and regaining her serious composure, "I suppose it would be a good pastime."

Eric smiled again, "Good. Let's go then."

* * *

><p>Alex, Brock, Karitoru, and Calem sat in the lounge of the Tao Dorm, playing a video game on Alex's game console while Dawn and Serena sat and talked, uninterested in their boyfriends' and friends' game. Stephen, along with Jessica and Alaina – who now wore a crimson headband to hold her black hair back – entered the room.<p>

Jessica got in front of the television, earning complaints from her friends. "Guys, Stephen has an important announcement!"

The razor-haired boy grinned, "Thank you, Jessica. Alright guys, Steven and his team have almost all of the findings that they want for their exhibit in the New Port Museum so I'd like you guys to come check it out when it opens next Saturday."

Brock responded, "That sounds really interesting Stephen! I'd like to go."

"So we're just ignoring the fact that Stephen lied to us for weeks about spending time with Steven Freaking Stone?!" Karitoru said "Okay. Fine by me."

Stephen scratched the back of his head, "I said I was sorry. I just didn't want you guys to ambush him with autographs and stuff."

Alex raised a finger, "Yeah, good call on that one, that probably would've been me."

Dawn sighed, "It's still going to be you when we go to the museum, isn't it?"

"Would you really be with me if I wasn't so fun?" he rebutted with a charming smile. She rolled her eyes as she gave him a peck on the lips as his answer.

Stephen asked, "So are you guys in?" and received a barrage of "Yes's" from his friends.

* * *

><p>Eric and Brendan had offered to get the food, leaving Ava seated at a table alone and nervous. She was not used to being invited to spend to time with others that did not involve a social gathering that her father threw or discussing academics with her teachers or classmates. When the boys returned, Eric held a tray with three hamburgers wrapped in paper with three orders of fries while Brendan brought the drinks.<p>

Eric and Brendan quickly started eating their burgers and fries – adding all the necessary condiments to their food while Ava stared at hers. "This isn't what I ordered."

Brendan swallowed the large lump of food in his mouth and responded, "Sorry princess, but they don't exactly have steak with caviar down here. Besides, don't you eat this stuff in the dining hall?"

She shook her head, "I prefer the soups and salads."

"Try the food" Eric offered. "I'm pretty sure you'll like it. No one makes them better than Mr. Hernan."

"Who's that?" she asked.

"He's the owner of the restaurant right there." Eric pointed over to a slot in the food court with a sign of a man wearing a sailor's outfit holding a plate with a hamburger on it. The cartoon man had a large smile and a gruff black beard. Ava sighed as she stood up and began walking away.

Brendan shrugged, "Guess this just doesn't cut it for her." A few moments later, she returned with a plastic knife and fork in hand and sat down.

As she began unwrapping the burger and tried to cut it, Eric spoke up, "What are you doing?"

She looked up at him, unaware of his confusion, "I'm going to try it like you said."

Eric could not believe this if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes as he tried to suppress a laugh. "Ava, you eat this stuff with your hands."

"But it's greasy."

"That's the point. You eat fast food with your hands. Here, like this." Eric raised his own hamburger with both hands and took a bite from it, wiping any of the special sauce that remained on his lips afterwards. Ava looked down at the food and sighed before picking the hamburger up, but not without holding up both pinky fingers, and took a bite from it. Eric laughed, "Close enough."

"Dude! Did you see that?! That was freaking clutch!"

Eric quickly turned to the television, "Why, what happened?"

"The dude Marshal's fighting, Austin Grandeen, had his Braviary use Brave Bird and Marshal's Throh caught him by the wings and used Stone Edge point blank!"

"To think Hilbert made it not only through this guy but all Elite Four members _and_ Alder."

"Oh yeah, have you heard anything about him, lately?"

"Yeah, but he's actually been spending a lot of his time in the Battle Subway since he hasn't gotten a single challenger yet. Hilda says that the first thing she's doing when she graduates from here is get all of the badges and take him on."

"I'd definitely pay to watch that!"

"You probably _will_ have to." The boys turned to Ava, feeling a little guilty that they had left her out, but quickly moved onto what she had just said.

"What do you mean?" Brendan asked.

"The Unova League knows how anticipated a battle between family would be so they'd make it pay-per-view. That combined by the fact that they would both be Pokemon Academy alumni would make it an even better."

"That makes sense," Eric responded. "Still, I'd really want to see that either way."

"I'm pretty sure people would pay to see you and your brother go at it too," Brendan said.

Eric shrugged, "Who knows, that could happen in the future. He seems to be on the right path."

* * *

><p>Cynthia's black heels clicked against the cement sidewalk until she stopped in front of the charred school bus surrounded by police tape. The bus appeared to have crashed into a building and caught on fire. Officer Jenny, a light skinned woman with short light blue hair, approached the dean and informed her about the situation.<p>

"So according to eye witnesses, the bus caught on fire _before_ it crashed into the building."

"And the people inside?"

"We only found one person inside, a student from your school by the name of Victor Cruz. We already sent him to the nearest hospital, Evergreen Hospital on Sherman Avenue and Garden Street."

"What about the bus driver and the other student?"

"Their bodies were not found so I'd like your description of them so that I can send out a search party." Cynthia gave the officer what she wanted and was left to watch as they tried to get the bus out of the building.

She soon went to visit Victor in the hospital and found him with cuts, scrapes, and burns, but according to the doctor, there were no major injuries. As the blonde woman entered the Orrian's room, she was met with a set of brown-reddish eyes filled with hatred. From what she could see, there was a gauss on his left cheek and bandages wrapped around his head and stomach. She made sure to keep her distance as she asked, "How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?! You send me onto that bus and ask me how I'm feeling?!"

Guilt showed in her eyes as they drifted downwards, "What happened?"

Victor crossed his arms, "I don't know."

"What do you remember?" He looked away from her. "Victor, please."

His auburn eyes shifted to look at her as he reluctantly said, "All I remember is being on the bus and then there was a thud and then fire coming from the engine. The next thing I knew, I was lying against one of the windows inside the bus and that's when I passed out. And that's everything…Is Damien okay?"

Cynthia looked over at the pitch black television screen, not sure how he would respond to what she was about to say. "I don't know." Victor's eyebrows furrowed from confusion and annoyance, but he let her continue. "The police said that you were in the bus by yourself. Damien and Earl, the bus driver, weren't inside but Officer Jenny is searching for them as we speak."

Victor looked straight ahead, fists clenched and jaw tight. "Get out." Finding it best to let him process everything and recover both physically and mentally, Cynthia left his room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

><p>A boy with long light green hair underneath a black and white cap sat on a bench, watching the sunset with an arm over his girlfriend – a girl with brown hair and energetic cerulean eyes. The boy was rather tall with light skin and mysterious green eyes, contrasting the girl's. He wore an unzipped white turtleneck, khaki pants, and green sneakers. A yellow cube puzzle hung from a chain attached to his pants at the waist. The girl stood at around five foot four and wore a white shirt, black cardigan, blue jeans, and black and dark pink boots. Her signature white hat with a pink Poke Ball insignia and visor rested on her head.<p>

The two sat closely together as a chilling breeze passed through the air. The Xtransceiver on the boy's wrist disrupted their peace as he silently asked for permission to answer as to which she responded with a smile and nod. He clicked the answer button and responded, "Hello?" An image of a middle-aged man with long platinum blonde hair with three spikes – one on each side of his head and one above his forehead – appeared on the screen. He had a strange white-rimmed monocle with a red lens over his right eye and Arceus knows how many wrinkles on his face. The boy turned to his girlfriend and said, "I'll be right back, my dad wants to talk about something."

Once he was out of earshot, the man on the screen began speaking, "N, have you found the girl?"

"Yes, it appears that she does have the power. I caught her doing it after training with her Salamence in one of the caves on the Southern face of Infinity Mountain."

A wicked smile appeared on the man's face, "Good, then we'll proceed as planned."

N nodded hesitantly and responded, "Ok, dad." As the screen went blank, he looked back to his girlfriend with yearning eyes. She smiled at him, causing him to fake one in return as he went back to her.

"What did you dad want?" she asked as he took his place next to her on the rickety wooden bench.

"It's nothing, Hilda. He's just thinking of this new investment and was asking me if I thought it was a good idea."

"What kind of investment?" she asked innocently.

He shrugged, "I don't know, it was something about a Pokemon food company or something like that." Trying to move past the topic, he said, "Hey let's get some coffee, yeah?" Hilda nodded with a sweet smile as she took his hand and walked off with him. Despite her being very outgoing and jocular, N could always make Hilda the most fragile damsel there ever was and he hated the power he had over her. He knew that regardless of the countless times that he rejected her before they became a couple, he could not stay away from her and because of his weakness, in the end, she would get hurt.

**Oooh dark! Well that's the end of the "An Unexpected Ally" Mini-Arc which will segue into what comes next. Remember to leave your questions, comments, concerns, remarks, rebuttals, inquiries, and general thoughts in the reviews. Legacy, out!**


	6. Chapter 6: Felix's Problems

**What's up, everyone?! Legacy918 back with a new chapter and I know it's been a few weeks so I have a long chapter for you this time! Yay! Okay, so I probably shouldn't have been doing this instead of studying for my midterms next week, but I was on a roll so I had to finish. So Felix was a character that was submitted very early in A New Dawn's life but I've never really given him much spotlight even though I liked the character because he was the first "Bad Guy" submitted. Well here you go, reven228! This is, mostly a Felix chapter! I hope you and the rest of my readers enjoy this! Please read the important notice at the end of this when you're done because this is exciting stuff.**

**Also, big round of applause to TheifofStealth for defeating the SYOC challenge with their OC Lennie Darren. I couldn't really complain about their OC, I didn't have any questions about her, and she would make a great addition to the story, offering something new that I think you'll all like. She won't show up for a while though and you'll all see why. The challenge is still not over so anyone who thinks they can beat it, feel free to try because it's not impossible to defeat (just very difficult). Rules are on my profile so if you'd like a shot, read them first. Anyway, let's get on with this chapter!**

**Chapter 6: Felix's Problems**

Anger was raging in Felix's eyes as he glared at the blonde woman in front of him. Cynthia looked back at him with a serious expression – her hands in front of her on her desk and her legs crossed. Two men stood on either side of her – one was Professor Rowan and the other a young man with spiky caramel brown hair and a pale complexion. His eyes were a pale orange and he wore a black jacket with light brown cargo pants.

"So one of my friends is in the hospital and the other could be dead?! What have you done about it?!"

"The police have been working tirelessly to find any clues that will lead us to Damien and who could have possibly done this."

The fire in his eyes continued as he asked, "And I bet you still expect me to go through with this stupid punishment."

Cynthia nodded, "I am terribly sorry for what happened to your friends. I see all of my students as my children and can't bear to watch any of you get hurt."

"So you'd give up on your kids?"

Her eyes closed slightly before reopening and she responded, "If you don't take a weed out of the garden, it will spread and those two were not helping the cause that I'm aiming for which is to create tolerance among people from all over the world. There are still places that we don't know much about, but I hope to create a generation of leaders that can reach out to others through Pokemon." Felix crossed his arm and let out a scoff. "Now I'm going to tell you something that the police told me today. They believe that someone caused the fire, more specifically, a Pokemon." He watched her with caution as she opened a drawer, took a plastic bag out, and placed it on the mahogany table between them. "They found this in the remains of the bus: a highly flammable polymer that is found in certain Pokemon that enables them to use fire-type attacks so it wasn't a normal fire which means that someone wanted to stop that bus from getting to the docks or more likely, they wanted to stop what was on that bus from leaving the island."

Felix started connecting the dots, "Someone was after Damien! But why would they leave Victor behind to die like that?"

"We don't know" Cynthia responded, "Is there anything that Damien has that others would want?"

Felix shook his head, "Nothing that I know of…but that doesn't change the fact that my other friend is still in the hospital!"

The young man next to Cynthia spoke, "You need to stop blaming Cynthia for that, kid! She had no control ov–"

Cynthia raised a hand to make him stop, "It's fine, Blue. He can blame me all he wants, but that won't right what's been wronged. What you need to focus on is doing good in school and helping Mark with your tutoring sessions."

Felix started grumbling and then asked, "What will happen to Victor?"

"I'm paying for all of the hospital bills but when he is released, he is going back to Orre."

"What makes you think that whoever did this won't come back to finish the job?"

"Because they just left him. If they really wanted to harm Victor, they would have done it there and then…But you're right. In case someone does want to harm him, I will be sending him off with body guards." There was a brief silence between the four. "Felix," he looked directly into her silver eyes, "I know how much you hate me right now, but if you blame me for sending them and Ava for telling us about the deal Damien made with Liam, you might as well blame Damien for making the deal in the first place, Victor for accepting the information, and yourself for not doing anything to stop it."

Felix remained quiet but emitted a tense energy that made it seem like he had so much more to say, however, all he asked was, "Did Liam ever show up?" Cynthia simply shook her head. "Did that scum leave the island?"

"We're not sure, but he's already left his room. I've already told the airport and docks to watch out for him so if he's still on the island, he definitely won't get anywhere."

Felix clenched his fist tightly, "Well when I find that garbage, I'll make sure he pays for this…" Despite being against fighting – whether it be between humans or Pokemon outside of the sport – she gave no objection to this. She looked at the clock then at him and said, "You have a tutoring session in a few minutes."

Felix nodded before turning around and opening the door. Before he exited, he asked, "What hospital is Victor in?"

"Evergreen Hospital. I'll email you the directions." Without looking at her, he nodded and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>The sound of footsteps echoed through the empty halls as the afternoon sun shown through the windows, shining upon Mark and Graham as they passed by them. The latter of the two boys was tall with a golden tan, sapphire blue eyes, and messy blonde hair which he kept underneath a military green beanie. He also wore a leather jacket with a gray hood, a dark green T-shirt, and a pair of torn jeans.<p>

"Alright, would you rather get a wedgie from the flag pole in front of Cynthia's office or get attacked by a flock of Murkrow?" Graham asked, continuing the game that the two would often play.

Mark thought about it for a second before responding, "Definitely Murkrow, I still want to have kids."

Graham laughed, "Yeah, I'd pick the same. Alright, your turn."

"Okay, let me see...Oh! Would you rather-"

"Mark! Graham! Wait up!" The two boys turned around to find their bandmates, Roxie and Billy Jo. Roxie was a petite girl that acted like a giant. She had pale skin, light blue eyes, and snow white hair - held above her forehead by a hair clip consisting of two spheres, one purple and the other light blue. She wore her favorite off-the-shoulder blue and purple sweatshirt and a pair of black jeans. Her best friend, Billy Jo, wore a black sweater with a skull on the front and a pair of skin-tight blue jeans. Her raven black hair was held into a ponytail at the side of her head and her pale face was accentuated by her heavy use of mascara and red lipstick. "You guys want to go to the mall today?" Roxie continued.

Mark shook his head, "I can't. I have to meet up with Felix today."

Billy Jo responded harshly, "Are you stupid or something? It's his punishment. You don't get in trouble for not showing up but he does."

The crimson-eyed boy had experienced Billy Jo's aggressive way of speaking many times before but he still was not used to it so his voice was low, "Yeah, but Cynthia says it would help the guy out. Maybe even undo all of the negativity he feels towards people of other regions."

Roxie nods, "Well if that's the case, I'm going too."

"You are?" The others asked, with uncertainty in their voices.

"Yeah, I mean one, Mark's our friend, two, he might be right about changing Felix, and three, I want to see who's the better poison-type trainer." A mischievous grin crept onto her face while the others laughed.

Graham shook his head, "That might not be the best idea, Rox. What if Mark showing up with a friend makes Felix less likely to open up? He could feel like Mark doesn't trust him. Plus I feel like Felix would get on your bad side just by breathing and we don't want to make things any worse than they already are."

Roxie weighed her options in her head before responding with just as much vigor, "Yup, guess you're right. But Mark, you let me know if that punk tries anything so I can whoop him." She punched him lightly in the arm as Billy Jo and Graham started walking the other way.

Billy Jo looked back at Mark and waved with two fingers, "Later, twerp."

Mark waved goodbye to his band-mates and let out a sigh as he turned around and looked down the empty hallway. He thought to himself, _This place is creepy after school_. He then headed to Professor Ivy's classroom and stood at the door where he froze and took a minute to muster up all of the courage he had. He took in a deep breath and let it out before giving the door three swift knocks which he wished sounded louder and more confident.

From inside, he heard a stern voice say, "Come in." Mark opened the wooden door to find Felix seated in Professor Ivy's desk. The younger boy opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted, "You're late, Hollister." He was startled, but was not given a chance to recover. "Come here." Without any protest, Mark made his way over to Felix who rolled slightly to allow the younger boy access to the desktop. "Sign in with your student I.D. and password." Mark did as he was told as fast as he could, but messed up the first time because of his shaky fingers, earning a low growl from Felix. Once Mark was logged in properly, Felix gestured with his head to the rising rows of seats and said, "Take a seat."

Without questioning him, Mark went to sit down in the front row where he kept his hands together in front of him. With a shaky voice, he began, "I-isn't that Professor Iv-" He stopped when Felix shifted in the Professor's seat to sit up right to glare at him.

Felix stood up and walked in front of Ivy's desk. "If we're going to do this, we need to get some things straight between us first. Number one, you come ON TIME because we both have to log into Professor Ivy's computer and we can't log out until thirty minutes are up and I don't want to waste any more time than I have to here, got it?" Mark nodded and Felix continued, "Number two, don't say anything that'll piss me off. And number three, when I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it?"

"What do you mean by rule number thr-"

"Didn't you listen to rule number two? Shut up." There was a tense silence between the two before Felix ordered, "Bring out your Gastly."

Mark unclipped a Poke Ball from his belt and lightly tossed it up to reveal a dark sphere of toxic gas with wide eyes and a fang coming down from each corner of his mouth.

"Gas, gas, gas!" he said gleefully. Felix took a step forward to examine him, making Mark feel nervous, to the point that he could feel sweat accumulating on his forehead.

The older boy turned around, walked away, and turned once more before calling out a plump purple Pokemon with sinister red eyes and a mischievous grin plastered onto his face. It had two horn-like ears and multiple spikes going down his back leading to the stubby tail at the end. "Gengar!" the Pokemon called out.

Mark took a second to look over Felix's Pokemon but the older boy got his attention by asking, "So now do you see why Cynthia wanted me to mentor you?"

Mark looked at Gengar once more and then at Gastly before deducing the answer. "Is it because you have Gastly's evolved form?"

Felix remarked, "Well at least you're not as dense as your friend so this won't be completely painful. What moves does your Gastly know?" Mark took a moment to think of the moves, but Felix was feeling rather impatient, and yelled out, "Hurry up!" startling his apprentice.

"Um, Hypnosis, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, and uh, Lick?"

Felix raised an eyebrow, "Is that a question or an answer?"

"A-answer!" Realizing how loud he spoke, Mark lowered his voice, "Answer."

The older boy looked at the floating ball of gas, who looked back at him with an innocent smile. "Let's battle."

"But your Pokemon is much stronger."

"And?"

"I'll lose."

Felix snapped, "Well stay a weakling then!"

There was a small moment of silence in which Felix glared at Mark who watched back nervously. "Okay, let's battle."

The two took to their sides of the room and without giving Mark a chance, Felix called out, "Shadow Ball!" A ball of dark energy formed between Gengar's stubby arms and was shot at Gastly, knocking him out. Mark stood wide-eyed as his Pokemon lie unconscious without even getting a chance to battle. He then looked up at Felix with anger in his eyes.

"Why did you do that?! We didn't even get a chance to battle!"

Felix was unfazed as he responded, "Did it really matter? You go for one of your useless moves and Gengar still knocks him out with Shadow Ball afterward. There's something for you to work on for when we meet up."

Mark recalled Gastly. "Well what are we supposed to do now? My Pokemon fainted."

Felix pointed to a seat, "Sit down and shut up. Cynthia wanted me to train your Gastly so that's the only one I'll train during these sessions. You can do whatever you want for the remaining twenty minutes as long as you don't bug me." He walked over to Ivy's desk and sat down with his legs up. Mark did as he was told and looked down at his desk for a few moments, thinking about how he wished he hadn't shown up.

* * *

><p>"Eevee, use Tackle!" The tiny brown pup ran over to the rabbit on the other side of the field. The rabbit had brown fur except on the ends of her ears, around her waist, and on her feet, which was cream-colored.<p>

Dawn commanded, "Buneary, use Bounce to dodge!" The small bunny jumped up high into the air. "Now use Ice Beam!" She opened her mouth and let out a blast of icy energy which froze Eevee solid.

Alex groaned, "Aw man! Babe, you froze her!"

Dawn panicked, "Ohmygosh! I'm so sorry!" She started digging through her backpack as she said, "Here, I think I have an Ice Heal-" As she rushed over with the medicine in her hand, she tripped and the bottle fell out of her hand. Alex managed to catch her while Pikachu ran over and caught the Ice Heal before giving it to his trainer.

"Well that's one way of giving it to me," he joked as he helped her stand up. Despite already being together for three months, Dawn couldn't help but feel like she did before they were together, when she would hope and pray for him to ask her out - all giddy and nervous on the inside.

Alex applied the medicine to his Pokemon who shivered while the ice melted around her. He picked her up and held her close to help warm her up while the little pup tried to bury herself into him to accomplish the same thing. Dawn apologized, "I'm so sorry, Eevee. Do you forgive me?" She came up from within Alex's arms a bit and barked while wagging her tail, which Alex and Dawn took as a yes. Piplup waddled over to Buneary and started lecturing her about being more careful, but the rabbit Pokemon unleashed an Ice Beam to freeze her teammate. "Buneary!" Dawn scolded while Alex, Pikachu, and Eevee laughed.

"Alex!" They all turned upon hearing his name being called out to find a girl with chocolate brown hair running over to them. As she neared them, she tripped on a hole in the dirt, but luckily, Alex caught her.

"Hey, Vanessa" he greeted her. "Guess all of the ladies are falling for me, today," he joked, while not noticing a frown on Dawn's face.

Vanessa adjusted her glasses as she started rambling, "Alex, this is horrible! I can't believe I let this happen! Professor Sycamore is going to kill me! What am I going to do?! That's it! I'll get on the first boat I can find and just sail! Sail far, far away!"

_Please do_, Dawn thought to herself.

Alex grabbed Vanessa by her shoulders to get her attention, "Vanessa, calm down. Tell me what's wrong."

The green-eyed girl inhaled and exhaled before explaining, "Froakie got out of the lab!"

Alex laughed, "That happens all of the time! I'm pretty sure he'll find me eventually and ask for a battle."

Vanessa shook her head, "I don't think so. He escaped over the break and he hasn't returned. I'm really starting to get worried."

"Do you want us to help you look for him?" he offered.

Vanessa noticed the disapproving look Dawn was giving her and shook her head, "No, it's fine, thank you. Could you just keep an eye out for him, please?"

Alex nodded with a friendly smile, "Yeah, definitely."

She smiled back and responded, "Thank you. Good bye." She waved to both Alex and Dawn and walked away.

Alex turned to face his girlfriend, still keeping a friendly smile, but it disappeared upon seeing a frown on her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked with concern apparent in his voice.

She shook her head and smiled, "Nothing, babe. Do you want to keep training?"

"Babe, do you even know me?" he responded as he went to his side.

_I'm asking myself the same question_, she thought to herself as she stood on her own side with Buneary in front of her.

* * *

><p>Eric and Ava stood side-by-side on a cobblestone bridge that connected the cement pathway to the dirt road that led into the forest. The sound of water trickling beneath them rang in their ears as the small river passed underneath the bridge. He looked over at her with his crimson-eyes and took notice of the brunette's body language. Her golden yellow eyes were aimed at the ground and she clenched her textbook tightly with both hands as she held it against her waist with the cover facing her.<p>

"You feeling alright?"

Ava looked up at him and began stumbling, "Who? Me? Y-yes, everything is in order."

A soft smile crept onto his lips as he responded, "It's okay to be a little nervous about meeting new people, but they're really nice and I think Korrina will benefit from seeing your Mega Abomasnow in action."

She turned her head and faced straight ahead at the flowing water. "I suppose."

"Hey Eric!" They both turned to find a couple approaching them while holding hands. The boy stood about an inch taller than Eric with metallic silver eyes and short black hair. His attire consisted of a gray turtleneck with a dark blue fleece vest over it as well as khaki pants and dark gray boots. The girl had eyes with a similar color and long platinum blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a white cardigan with orange trim, a pair of black tights, and a withered pair of white and orange sneakers. A white and orange glove claimed her left wrist and a Keystone was embedded on the backside of it.

Eric walked over to them, hugging the girl and clasping hands with the boy. "Hey Korrina, William. Isn't it about ten degrees too low to be wearing those?" he teased his friend.

William laughed as he shifted the glasses on his head and responded, "Dude, swag doesn't know what temperature is."

The crimson-eyed boy laughed, "If you say so." He turned to Ava and waved her over, to which she followed. "Guys, this is Ava. Ava, this is William and Korrina."

"Hey!" the blonde said cheerily, "It's great to meet you!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too" Ava responded politely.

William shook her hand, "I heard that it's thanks to you that two of those Orre Region creeps are gone. They were really starting to get on my nerves too."

Korrina slapped his arm lightly and teased, "Not like you were going to do anything!"

The others laughed as Eric suggested, "Alright, so do you guys want to get to training?"

William responded, "Me and Takuya have to do that report for Birch's class."

Eric asked, "I already finished mine with Skyla. How much more do you guys need?"

A guilty grin appeared on the silver-eyed boy's face as he lowered his head slightly. "The entire paper?"

His friend shook his head, "So I take it that you're busting an all-nighter in my room?" William nodded, still displaying that guilty smile. "Alright, you can sleep in my bed. I'll spend the night in Skyla's room."

Ava raised an eyebrow and asked, "Your RA doesn't check your rooms?"

"We have Blaine," William responded. "He doesn't really care as long as we don't make too much noise."

Eric added, "Plus Sabrina is the RA on Skyla's floor and she only makes one round at curfew before going to her own room so it's not hard to sneak in. I've done it before." Ava simply nodded her acknowledgement.

"Alright, I'll see you later, bro" William said as he clasped hands with Eric. "Bye, babe." He gave Korrina a kiss and then waved goodbye to Ava. The remaining three walked into the forest until they reached an open expanse to provide enough room for their training.

As they set their bags down, Eric explained to Ava, "Okay, so Korrina is having problem controlling Lucario once he Mega Evolves. How did you get your Abomasnow to listen to you?"

"I'm not really sure. I recently found Abomasite over the summer and she obeyed my instructions from the beginning. I believe that it's because I've had her for a long time."

Korrina responded, "But the thing is, Lucario was my first Pokemon here but for some reason, I can't control him. We have a strong bond and we have both stones so what could be missing?"

"Not sure," Eric said. "Ava, let's Mega Evolve out Pokemon first and go from there." She nodded as she called out her Abomasnow. The large snow-covered tree landed with a thud and turned to find Lucario appear next to her. Eric grabbed the chain around his neck and brought out the spiral galaxy-shaped pendant from underneath his turtleneck. With his right index and middle finger, he touched the Keystone while Ava reached for her own Keystone on her choker necklace. Beams of energy emitted from them and connected to the Lucarionite on Lucario's bronze bracer and Abomasnow's Abomasite on her gold cuff bracelet. With a bright flash of purple, the two Pokemon were transformed and menacing roars escaped from their mouths. Abomasnow became larger with her pines sticking out and two large ice crystals protruding from her back. Instead of standing on two feet, she placed her hands on the ground to balance herself.

Korrina had already seen Lucario Mega Evolve but had never seen a Mega Abomasnow so her excitement rose upon seeing it. She then noticed how their trainers were after their Pokemon Mega Evolved. They stood tall and confident, despite just demonstrating their Pokemon. She could tell that they were in control of their Pokemon by looking at how they carried themselves.

"I've got it!" She yelled out. Eric and Ava looked at her with curiosity. "I need to stop being afraid of losing control over Lucario and show that I'm in charge." They looked at each other before turning back to Korrina to allow her to continue. "The way both of you are when your Pokemon Mega Evolve – you stand up straight and show your confidence and maybe that's why Mega Lucario doesn't listen to me. He can sense my fear. I've seen how confident Eric is after Mega Evolution but he's usually a confident guy but seeing how both of you are, it all makes sense now!"

The crimson-eyed boy smiled. "I didn't think that that's what was missing but now that you mention it, it makes sense. Try to let go of all of your fears and remain calm." The blonde nodded as she called out Lucario.

"You ready?" He cried out his approval and she tapped her Keystone. After the bright flash, her Lucario had transformed as well.

Eric advised her, "Remember, stay calm and in control. You need to exert your authority."

"Right, let's spar, Lucario." He nodded in agreement.

Eric looked over at Ava, "You want to give it a shot?"

She nodded and stepped forward. "Abomasnow, use Energy Ball." A sphere of green energy began forming in her mouth before shooting it at Mega Lucario.

"Use Bone Rush and jump over it!" A blue staff formed in his hands which he used to elevate himself over the sphere and smacked Mega Abomasnow's face.

The Forest Tree Pokemon let out a growl before regaining her composure. "Use Blizzard." Mega Abomasnow raised one hand after the other and slammed them against the ground, causing a chilling wind to pass through the area, sending Mega Lucario back.

The aura dog was pushed until he was standing next to Korrina. She looked at him and asked, "You feeling alright?" He nodded, reassuring her, and she began feeling calm. "Okay, use Power-Up Punch!" His fist was surrounded in energy as he ran towards his opponent.

"Use Beam." Mega Abomasnow opened her mouth and let lose an icy blast at Mega Lucario.

"Dodge them!" He shifted from left to right, avoiding the attacks as he approached the ice-type.

"Aim at the ground!" She shot an Ice Beam at the ground in front of Mega Lucario, causing him to slip.

"Oh no!" Korrina yelled out from surprise. "Lucario are you okay?" The blue canine rose from one knee and stood up straight, making her sigh from relief, however this quickly changed as her Pokemon began howling wildly. "No! What happened?!"

Eric nodded to his Mega Lucario who shot a barrage of Aura Spheres at the ground around Korrina's Pokemon which caused the dirt to rise as clouds and blind him. Eric's Pokemon then appeared above the other Lucario and shot one more Aura Sphere down on him to knock him out. The unconscious Mega Lucario reverted as he lay on the ground and Korrina went to check on him.

Eric and Ava's Pokemon reverted to normal and were recalled into their respective Poke Balls as the two approached Korrina and her Lucario. The crimson-eyed boy began, "You were doing fine until you lost your cool when he slipped on the ice. You need to be prepared for absolutely anything and remain in control of your emotions through it all."

Korrina sighed as she returned Lucario, "I guess I still have more training to do." She then turned to Ava, "Thank you for helping me train."

The brunette smiled, "It was my pleasure."

* * *

><p>Felix followed the nurse through the white hallways until they reached a room in the most distant corner of the corridor. She opened the door and allowed him entry and what he found was his friend lying in bed with bandages wrapped around his stomach and arms and a Band-Aid covering his cheek.<p>

"Did you just finish training?" Felix joked as he entered the room.

Victor laughed as he responded, "Nah, this is what you get when you piss a woman off." The two laughed before entering a brief silence. "That stupid bitch is responsible for this."

Felix nodded, "Yeah…but so are we."

Victor looked at him suspiciously, "Are you siding with her?"

"I'm not siding with anyone. It's just that if we blame her, we also have to blame Eric, Siebold, Ava, and everyone that had some influence on the way things turned out…even ourselves." Victor understood what his friend meant and began shifting in his bed into a more comfortable position. "But there's definitely one person I won't let off the hook." He received a curious look form Victor. "Liam…that bastard never showed up to get his punishment and now no one knows where he is."

"That little bitch! Did he leave the island?"

"I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised if that spoiled rich son of a bitch did. If I ever see him, I'll make sure he pays for skipping out."

"So what was your punishment?"

"I have to mentor Eric's little brother and Cynthia only picked him because the punk has a Gastly. We have to meet up every Monday through Thursday afterschool and I just came from our first session."

"The kid any good?"

"I one-shotted his Gastly with a Shadow Ball." The two started laughing. "Hey, it gives him a goal to reach. Maybe his Gastly will be able to take two if he works hard enough. So how you holding up?"

Victor sighed, "I'm fine but it's just…what I did…I wanted to win so bad to prove that someone from the Orre Region could be strong. And then even after I cheated, Eric managed to beat me. It just makes you think you know…could I ever really measure up to him or the other top trainers?"

"You could man, you've just got to work hard. Eric, Takuya, Volkner, Flint, Wes, they weren't born with talent. They work hard. You've just got to keep training and that's exactly what I'll do."

Victor nodded his head and silence fell between the two. "Did Cynthia tell you about Damien?"

"She says that the cops think that a Pokemon is responsible for the bus catching on fire. Did you see anything?"

"No, but it makes sense. It felt as though the bus had been pushed from the front, most likely hit by an attack. Nothing too strong like a Fire Blast or Overheat but definitely something like a Flamethrower or maybe even Heat Wave."

"Well I'm not sure about what attacked the bus, but I know that I'm to kill whoever took out friend."

* * *

><p>Dawn sighed as she brushed her hair, "I don't know what's up with him lately, Zoey. I know that he's a really friendly guy, but what he said today really bugs me. Like why would he say that in front of his girlfriend?!"<p>

The spiky-haired redhead responded, "Well he's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed."

"Zoey! This is serious! It's really bothering me!" the bluenette whined.

"Okay, okay. Well like you said, he's just really friendly. Besides he's with you all the time and he genuinely looks happy when he's with you. I don't think he'd throw that away for anything?"

"What about for a supermodel?"

Zoey quirked an eyebrow at her friend. "What do you mean?"

"Serena told me that he gave Elesa his jacket the last night that he was here when they went to the movies."

"Okay, now that's concerning."

"I know! And I can't just stroll up to him and ask if he's cheating on me because if he is, he'll just say no, and I don't want to feel suspicious of him if he isn't actually cheating. What do I do, Zoey?"

"Ask Mark to find out for you."

"Mark would never tell on his best friend. Plus he isn't the most subtle – he'd give it away easily."

"Well then I don't know what to tell you, Dawn. Become lesbian?" she teased. Dawn erupted into laughter, however it did not last long as her mind was being chewed at by the thought of her boyfriend flirting with other girls or possibly even cheating on her. Zoey placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder and smiled at her, "I'm not saying to become completely oblivious, but don't let it eat at you, okay?"

Dawn returned the smile and responded, "Okay."

* * *

><p>"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" A sphere of electricity formed at the tip of Pikachu's tail before he swung it and threw the attack at a nearby tree. "Alright!" Alex cheered. "That was a nice shot!"<p>

"Pikachu!" the yellow mouse said happily.

Alex walked over to his partner, "Alright, I think that's good enough for tonight. Let's go get some dinner!"

His Pokemon nodded, "Pika! Pi!"

Suddenly, they saw a shadow, provided by the moonlight, pass overhead, causing them to look up but they could only see the tail of a Pokemon as it glided off in some direction that the trees covered. "What was that?" Pikachu shrugged. "Want to go check it out?"

He nodded, "Pika!" Alex picked up his satchel and slung it over his shoulder as he ran in the direction of the large Pokemon. For the longest, he could not see anything and was ready to give up until he saw something in the sky fly towards a plateau.

Alex called out his Pidgeotto and told her, "Can you take a look up there and see where it went?"

"Pidgeotto!" She flapped her wings and flew up high as Alex and Pikachu started making their ascent.

Alex placed one foot above the other as he pulled himself up, but he soon started feeling strain on his arms. Pikachu stopped to check on him. "I'm okay, buddy." He exerted more energy to prove it to his Pokemon as the two continued climbing. When they reached the top, they found Pidgeotto perched on the edge of what seemed like a dip in the plateau. A girl stood in the center with to Pokemon: a large dragon with blue scales and red wings and a blue bird-like Pokemon with a long neck and clouds covering its torso and wings. The moon provided enough light for Alex to see that both Pokemon were covered in scratches and were panting from exhaustion. The girl made her way over to them and placed her hands on them, which emitted a green light and within seconds, they both started flying around again.

Alex's eyes opened wide, unable to believe what he just saw, when the ground beneath him gave in and he slid down. Dirt was sent up into the air, obscuring his vision and causing him to cough but once it cleared, he could see the red-winged dragon fly towards him and open its mouth to unleash a blast of flames.

"Salamence, no!"

**Cliff hanger! Yay! Okay, so if you read my A/N at the beginning, then you know that there's an important notice here. Here it is.**

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: Because of how long it's taking me to write out this story, I have decided that I WILL NOT write Alex and Mark's second, third, and fourth years. Boo! I know, but I do have school as well as my internship (which I hope become a job soon) as well as a trip to El Salvador in the summer and it would be unfair to you guys to continue something I can't finish so this will be the final Pokemon Academy book.**

**HOWEVER, (this is the exciting stuff), I've noticed lately that authors have been letting each other borrow characters that appear in their stories and I've done it in the past, so why not make a story in which your favorite protagonists team up to face a new foe? This story will take place six years after the events of Pokemon Academy: Power of Chaos and will serve as a sequel to not only this story, but also a direct sequel to The Champion Circuit by MikeV1 and Legend of the Whisperers by PokeThatPokemon so if you love these stories, you can be sure to see Alex and Mark team up with Grace and Tew. Now, I can keep this a secret until I launch this story so why am I telling you guys? Because I want to hear from you guys, who do you want to see in this story? They MUST be protagonists from SYOC stories here on Fanfiction and the world they come from MUST be able to fit in with the one that this story takes place in meaning that protagonists from stories where the characters have powers or characters that are the Pokemon won't do. Now what makes this even trickier is that it can't mess with the continuity of this story therefore if Elesa appears in their story too as a teenager, it won't work because in my story, she's at Pokemon Academy while she's a teenager.**

**So in the reviews, you can leave a protagonist from another Pokemon SYOC fanfiction or story that accepts OCs (because some people don't put SYOC in their summaries) as well as a link to that story and I will speak to the author. Now if you are an author that wants their character to be a part of this, please PM so we can discuss this. If there's any confusion about this whatsoever, PM me and I'll explain. If you leave a question in the review and I see multiple people doing it or if you're a guest, you won't get your questions answered until next time to please PM me.**

**Well that was a mouthful! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are excited for the next chapter and the new story I'm planning. ****Remember to leave your questions, comments, concerns, remarks, rebuttals, inquiries, and general thoughts in the reviews. Legacy, out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Under Pressure

**Happy Valentine's Day! Well I'm late by an hour but I would've had this posted had my friends not invited me to play have a bonfire in their backyard and play a little Uno. And I'm no saint, so yes there was a bit of alcohol, but I just recovered from a stomach flu so I didn't go as hard as I did last week.**

**AquaHDFilms: Hey, I tried getting you on kik but it said your phone was off. For security purposes, I won't give out my kik (especially after what happens at the end of this update). As curious as I am about this character you have in mind, I honestly can't think of a solution other than for you to get an account because if we go back and forth between updates and reviews, we'll never get the character fleshed out in time and everyone will know what he/she is like so the element of surprise for the other readers would be gone. I truly am sorry, but this is the best I can think of because I don't have Xbox. I hope you will continue reading and enjoying this story, though.**

**Alright, so despite the quick pace of this chapter, I think it has a lot of stuff you guys will like. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7: Under Pressure**

"Salamence, no!" the girl cried out as the large blue dragon quickly closed the gap between Alex and himself. The emerald-eyed boy shielded his face with his hands, unable to do much else as he felt the scorching heat of the dragon's flames increase with each passing second. Suddenly, he felt himself whisked away and the cool night air returned, making him open his eyes to find himself in the cloud Pokemon's claws. He looked back to find the other dragon growling, however his trainer's protest prevented him from doing anything else. Next thing he knew, Alex was dropped by the cloud Pokemon on the ground and was soon accompanied by Pikachu and Pidgeotto who were prepared for a fight. Alex lifted himself onto one knee and looked at the two dragon-types in front of him. "Who are you?" His emerald eyes scanned the area, searching for the source of the voice, to find a girl with crimson hair appear from behind the Salamence – the same redhead that he encountered on the elevator.

Alex looked into innocent, yet alert, light green eyes that were studying him, watching with caution to see what he would do. "Y-you're that girl from before," confusion spread across her face, "from the elevator. I remember being in the elevator with you on the first day of the semester." She cocked her head, still oblivious to what he was talking about.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember you…What are you doing here?"

"Well I saw your Salamence flying overhead and I wanted to check it out, maybe even catch it. I didn't know it had a trainer. I, um, I saw what you did – you know, with your hands and the green light." He noticed her tense up, "I-I won't tell anyone, though! And I know you can't be sure of that since I'm a stranger, but I give you my word that I won't give your secret away…" Her light green eyes met his and she could see a solid determination in them, giving her slight reassurance.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Alex, Alex Arceo. What's yours?"

"E-Eden…"

"Do you have a last name?" Alex teased.

"Eden Ray Taylor is my full name."

"Whoa, whoa! Easy now!" he held his hands up, pretending like he was trying to get her to stop. "I was going to take baby steps but you hit the nitro button." She giggled a bit, feeling more comfortable around him. "It's nice to meet you, Eden. This is Pikachu and Pidgeotto." They both let out cries and waved.

"It's nice to meet you all," she said. "This is Salamence and Altaria." The red-winged dragon let out a low snarl while his teammate gave a welcoming cry like Pikachu and Pidgeotto. "So you saw what I did…"

"Yeah…" Eden tensed up again while Alex took a brief pause. "It was awesome! Where did you learn how to do that?"

She was taken aback by his enthusiasm and quick acceptance of her. "I-I was born with it." She glanced at the thin silver watch claiming her left wrist and said, "It's almost curfew, we should be getting back." She hopped onto Salamence's back and gestured to Altaria, "You could ride her, if you'd like." Alex's eyes widened with excitement like a seven-year old in a candy store as he returned Pidgeotto into her Poke Ball and ran towards Altaria with Pikachu close behind. The dragon-type lowered herself but he just looked at her quizzically. "Is there something wrong?"

He looked at Eden and asked, "How do I get on?" Not ten seconds ago, he was filled with immense enthusiasm and now he displayed child-like ignorance. "I don't want to hurt her, you know?"

"Just put one leg over and keep your legs in front of her wings so they don't get in the way. Then just hang on tight."

His enthusiasm returned, "Got it!" The emerald-eyed boy did as he was instructed and after a short moment of struggling, he was on Altaria's back with Pikachu on his shoulder. He looked over at Eden and gave her a thumbs-up so she told her Salamence to start flying. With a flap of his powerful red wings, he began hovering until they were high up in the sky. Altaria followed his lead and began flying behind Eden and Salamence. All Alex and Pikachu could see below was a sea of withering trees as the cool night air blew against them. About half a mile away were the dim lights of the academy and a few miles further was nighttime New Port City, infested with millions of gleaming lights. After about ten minutes, they arrived in front of the Tao Dorm where they dismounted Eden's Pokemon so she could recall them into their capsules.

As they entered the elevator, he told her with a friendly smile, "Hey, that was really awesome, thanks for the ride."

She smiled back at him, "You're welcome." The elevator doors opened and she stepped out.

"See you around." The red-head turned around and waved at him with a smile before walking to her room.

* * *

><p><em>A six year old Alex felt the miniscule icy crystals fall onto the back of his bare hand as it clamped down on the snow-covered ground. He had a glove on, but it got lost somewhere on the mountain. He was so worn out that none of that mattered. The only thing he was concerned with – more than finding his dad – was survival. His eyes were burning red from all the crying he had done and the tear marks on his cheeks gave him chills every time a small breeze passed by. His emerald eyes looked around at the lifeless trees trying to find some sort of life…he found it.<em>

_A twig snapped alerting Alex that someone or something was close by so he turned around, hoping that it was his parents but instead, he found a three-hundred pound bear Pokemon with brown fur and a cream-colored circle on its torso. Its cold black eyes held a primal gluttony and it growled as it approached the little boy. Tears welled up in his eyes and mucus infested his nose as he began crying out loud, frightened by the wild Pokemon. He closed his eyes, spilling the tears over his rosy cheeks, not wanting to see what would happen next, but he reopened them upon hearing the call of another Pokemon._

"_Pi-ka-chu!" He opened his eyes to find a brilliant flash that caused him to close one eye and squint with the other. When the flash disappeared, he was able to see a small yellow mouse land on the white blanket in front of him as the large bear fell backwards with patches of burnt fur covering its body. The boy looked on in complete shock as the little mouse defeated the enormous bear. The yellow mouse turned around to reveal a set of hardened black eyes. Suddenly, Alex felt a blizzard slam against him and the Pikachu became a mere silhouette in a blank background._

* * *

><p><em>A young Mark walked through the woods with his parents holding his mother's hand back from a Pokemon Contest. His father held a lantern as the only source of light until they reached their house which would have the porch light on. As they passed through the clearing, they were greeted with a different source of light as raging flames consumed their summer home. Mark's father commanded, "Linda, call the ambulance and the firefighters!" as he ran into the inferno. Mark's mother did as she was told but it would take some time for the firefighters and ambulance to get there so in the meantime, they waited and watched the burning house.<em>

_Tears streamed down both of their faces as the boy asked, "__Are they going to be okay?"_

_His mother looked back at him feigning a smile and responded, "They'll be perfectly fine. You're father's in there." She turned back to face the flames and looked out for her husband and children. That's when they could see shadowed figures coming out of the doorway. When they got closer, he could see them clearly. There were only two—one was his father whose face and clothes were covered in ash and the other was his older brother._

_The boys' mother walked up to their father and frantically asked, "Where's Sara?!" The man looked back at the house as his wife broke down into tears. Mark looked at the violent flames and before he knew it, they enlarged and consumed the entirety of his surroundings._

* * *

><p>"Ahhh!" Mark sprang forward in his bed, sweat covering his tan skin as his heart pounded against his chest at an unnerving velocity. After a few seconds, it had registered in his brain that he wasn't the only one who yelled out. He turned on the light on his night stand to find Alex sitting upright in a similar state and apparently, they had awoken Pikachu who was very concerned for his trainer.<p>

Green eyes met red as the boys looked at each other, not really concerned about their individual dreams, but more for the others. They turned their heads upon hearing a door open to find their neighbors walking in from the restroom. Stephen was still half asleep with one eye closed and the other half open.

"You guys alright?" the snow-haired teen asked.

"Y-yeah…" Alex responded, sounding unsure.

"We thought that there was an Ekans or something in here," Stephen teased.

"Oh, Ha! Ha!" Alex replied sarcastically.

Karitoru commented, "No seriously, though, you guys look a bit shaken up. Everything okay?"

Mark simply nodded without making eye contact. "Just a bad dream."

"Both of you?" Karitoru raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

Stephen added, "Sounds like Darkrai's been messing with you two."

Alex scoffed, "That's just an urban myth. Besides, it was just that dream I told you guys about before about being saved by a Pikachu."

Their neighbors accepted his explanation and shifted their attention to Mark. "What about you?" Stephen asked.

Mark couldn't help but avoid looking at them as he responded, "I have a recurring dream too, but I'd rather not talk about it."

Alex looked at his friend with sympathy in his eyes while Karitoru and Stephen just nodded at each other deciding to leave him alone. "Well, let us know if there's ever anything that's bothering you," Stephen said. "You can trust us."

Mark gave a slow nod. "Thanks, guys." Their neighbors left and closed the door behind them, leaving Alex, Mark, and Pikachu alone in the room. "Well, good night." The crimson-eyed boy said as he turned his light off and lied down again. Alex followed suit, however a myriad of thoughts prevented him from falling asleep again: Eden's mysterious powers, his dream, and the most troubling, Mark's dream. After hours of laying in silence and darkness, he heard Mark ask, "Can't sleep either?"

"Nope…"

"The dream I have…it's about how my sister, Sara, died." Alex looked up into nothingness as he let his friend's loss process through his tired brain. "I was really young when she died so I don't have that many memories of her, but sometimes I like to just look at the pictures of her that my parents keep around the house. She was really pretty and always happy. I remember her always buying me coconut ice cream with her leftover scholarship money that she got for attending this school. According to my parents, she had some special gift for Pokemon training. She could make any Pokemon listen to her even if they weren't hers, but she never used it to her advantage in Pokemon battles because she valued a fair fight. I always wonder about what it would be like if she…if she was still here, you know?"

There was silence form both teenagers for a brief moment before Alex responded, "Yeah, I know…How did she…you know?"

"We had a summer home, but one night while my parents took me to watch a contest, they left Sara to watch Eric because he thought contests were really girly. When we got home, the house was on fire and my dad immediately went in to get my brother and sister. He managed to get Eric, but couldn't find Sara." Alex could hear his voice crack at the end. He didn't know how to comfort him and he cursed himself for not being able to help. There was a bit of sniffling and after that, endless silence, and the night took them both into slumber.

* * *

><p>The dining hall was bustling with noise as the students talked and ate and the aroma of fried chicken wafted throughout the room. Alex sat at a table with Dawn and their friends, as Jessica commented, "You two look like shit. What were you guys up to last night, huh? Can you not be trusted to share a room?" she teased.<p>

The others laughed but Mark showed indifference. Alex, on the other hand, countered "Hey at least my man, ain't Matt." This got Jessica's blood boiling and by the looks of it, a vain was about to pop out of her forehead.

Mark whispered over to his roommate, "Dude, why'd you go there?" The dining hall was filled with a vicious yell and everyone turned to find Brock holding Jessica back as she tried to insert a spork into Alex's esophagus.

* * *

><p>Alex, Mark, and Jessica sat across from Cynthia who had an eyebrow raised. "Why are the three of you in here?"<p>

Mark timidly responded, "Because Jessica attempted second degree murder."

"Alex started it," Jessica muttered as she crossed her arms.

"It was just a joke," Alex defended. "You know I didn't really mean to piss you off. I thought we could joke around like that."

"Not about that douchebag…"

Mark asked Jessica for permission, "Can I tell him?"

She shook her head, "I'll tell him." Jessica glanced at Cynthia, remembering that she was there and said, "You probably won't want to hear this. It's just a bunch of high school relationship stuff."

Cynthia gestured with her hands, "Go ahead, I'm here to mitigate any problems."

Jessica nodded, "Okay. Well basically, Matt and I dated last year and I really like him but I found all these texts to other girls on his Poke Gear so I broke up with him. He's a complete d–" she chose her words carefully remembering that her dean was present, "dirt bag and I hope bad things happen to him for how he treats women."

Cynthia sighed, "Tell me about it...men." The students looked at her, with raised eyebrows and smirks which they were trying to hold back. She noticed and responded, "What? I'm a woman too. Alex, you have a girlfriend, right?"

"Hold on, how does the dean know about my love life?"

"Did you really think the faculty didn't talk about students?" All four burst into laughter before she continued, "As I was saying, you better treat her right, okay? Don't ever make her doubt how much you care about her. Same goes for you for when you get a girlfriend, okay Mark?"

They nodded, "Yes ma'am."

"Good, now get to your classes and no murder of any degree, got it?" She gave them a friendly smile as they said goodbye and exited her office.

On the way to their classes, Alex apologized again, "Hey Jess, I really didn't mean to get you like that."

She nodded, "Yeah, I know. Sorry I tried to impale you with a plastic utensil."

"We cool?"

She wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a hug, "Yeah, we're cool."

* * *

><p>Mark entered Professor Ivy's classroom to find his mentor sitting in the professor's seat again. The crimson-eyed boy made sure to come on time so Felix was not angered with him. He simply moved out of the way so Mark could log onto Ivy's computer. After that, Felix had Mark call out Gastly and Gengar was summoned to accompany him.<p>

"Geng!" he said through his sinister grin.

The spherical Pokemon responded in a friendly manner, "Gas!" It didn't seem like Gengar was as hostile towards his brethren as Felix was to Mark.

"Shadow Ball." A dark purple sphere flew towards Mark's Pokemon.

"Dodge!" Gastly was not fast enough to evade the attack and was knocked out. Felix gestured with his head towards the seats so Mark recalled Gastly into his Poke Ball and sat in silence for the remainder of the session.

* * *

><p>Wednesday:<p>

"Shadow Ball."

"Dodge!" Gastly was unable to battle.

* * *

><p>Thursday:<p>

"Confuse Ray, Gastly!"

Gengar easily side stepped the flashing yellow orb. "Shadow Ball." Gastly was hit and dropped to the ground like a Mothim after it hits a bug-type zapper.

* * *

><p>Alex passed by his friends' feet as he tried to get to his seat with the tray of snacks that he got for himself and the others. As he plopped down on his seat, he started handing out snacks to the others respectively. "Alright, nachos for Stephen, Jessica, and Brock, corndogs for Karitoru, Alaina, and Calem, a pretzel for Serena, churros for me and Mark, and an ice cream sandwich for Dawn. Oh, right! And some Pokechow for Pikachu and Piplup." As everyone enjoyed their food, they watched, enjoying the relaxation that came with not having to battle that day.<p>

Cynthia stepped onto the center of the field and said, "Thank you for that wonderful battle, Gardenia and Grant. Next up, we have Addison Elizabeth Bryant!" Somewhere else in the stands, Jasmine, Flannery, and Erika all started cheering as the short brunette stepped onto the dirt field. "And her opponent will be Marisa Alvarado!" An adolescent with chocolate brown hair clapped while sporting a grin to support his girlfriend as the black-haired girl stood across from Addie with Misdreavus floating over her shoulder.

Marisa wore a black long-sleeve shirt underneath a pink hoodie along with white jeans, a pair of pink Vans and a black beanie on top of her shoulder-length raven black hair. Her hazel eyes held a vibrant energy and her soft smirk complimented her sun-kissed skin.

The referee recited the rules of the three-on-three match to the girls and told them to call out their first Pokemon. Before doing that, Addison sat on the ground and began removing her black winter boots followed by her white knee-length socks to reveal a pair of smooth feet with freshly pedicured nails which were coated with a blue polish. She stood up, feeling her bare feet touch grains of dirt underneath. It was rough, but not that unpleasant. She looked directly at her opponent who did not really seem so surprised by the strange mannerism.

"The hell is she doing?" Alex asked.

Brock chuckled, "Addison is known for her barefoot battle style inspired by Maylene Dodger, a fighting-type gym leader that graduated from the academy just last year."

"Still seems weird to me," Alex responded.

The referee spoke again, "Both trainers may now call out their first Pokemon." The girls reached for their first Poke Balls and tossed them out onto the field. On Marisa's side was Heliolisk – a yellow lizard with black scales around his head and neck and a red-orange patterned collar. In front of this lizard was a bipedal frog-like Pokemon with dark blue skin and red horns coming from the top of his wrists. He bobbed up and down with a hasty rhythm and an awkward grin on his face. "Marisa may have the first move."

The black-haired girl nodded as she pointed at Toxicroak and called out, "Solaris, use Thunderbolt!" The collar around his neck opened up and glowed yellow as he unleashed a current of electrical energy at Toxicroak.

Addison took a step forward, "Block it with Mud Bomb!" Toxicroak opened his mouth and shot out a blob of mud that connected with the electric attack and neutralized it. "Follow up with Sludge Bomb!" He shot out a blob of purple muck at Solaris, knocking him back.

"You okay, Solaris?" He got up, but was stricken with poison which was indicated by the faint purple streak passing across the bridge of his nose and the sweat beginning to flow down his face. "Oh no!"

Addison grinned. She pushed a fist forward, "Now Venoshock!" Toxicroak opened his mouth once more and let out a stream of venom which knocked out Solaris. "Venoshock does more damage if your Pokemon is poisoned," Addison explained as she crossed her arms and flashed an arrogant grin.

Marisa threw out another Poke Ball, "Let's go, Banshee!" A white Pokemon with dark violet around her mouth and eyes as well as a red sash tied around her waist appeared before the raven-haired teen. Her sclera was yellow and her eyes were an icy blue with black pupils.

"Las!" she chimed elegantly while extending her hands to her sides.

"Banshee, use Ominous Wind!" Froslass closed her eyes and brought her hands together and shortly after, a wave of icy air and snow passed by, covering Toxicroak in ice.

"Toxicroak!" Addison yelled out.

"Follow up with Ominous Wind!" The winds shifted from cold and snowy to dark and eerie as they passed through Toxicroak. The ice broke and the frog fell face first.

Addison recalled him and brought out her next Pokemon. "Go, Typhlosion!" Without giving Marisa an opportunity, she threw a punch and called out, "Use Flamethrower!" The navy blue badger opened his mouth and unleashed a blast of flames.

"Destiny Bond!" Two spheres of white light orbited Froslass before the flames consumed her.

As the ice-type fell over, the brunette cheered, "Alright, Typhlosion!" Her excitement fleeted as the two white orbs previously floating around Froslass dashed across the field and whirled around Typhlosion. He let out a painful cry before the orbs disappeared and then fell over, kicking a bit of dust into the air "W-what just happened?!"

Marisa snickered, "I had Froslass use Destiny Bond. If your Pokemon knocks her out within five seconds of her using that move, then it'll be knocked out as well." She gave her opponent a sweet smile while closing her eyes and tilting her head.

Addison was fuming as she recalled Typhlosion and reached for her last Poke Ball and responded, "Shaddap and go for your next 'mon."

The raven-haired girl returned Froslass as well and let out a giggle as she readied her final Pokemon. Her expression transformed into one of determination as she looked at Addison. The two girls tossed out their last Pokemon.

"Go Gem!" Marisa said. _I really owe Hector for this_.

"I choose you, Floatzel!" The orange weasel had a confident smirk as he held onto her yellow tube and glared at the purple ten-pronged starfish. "Floatzel, Swift!" She turned around and spun her twin tails to unleash a barrage of bright yellow stars.

"Dodge!" Starmie quickly rolled out of the way and while it was moving, Marisa ordered for it to use Scald. It shot out a stream of boiling hot water from its dazzling ruby which struck Floatzel. The weasel let out a tortured cry.

"Use Aqua Jet!" mustering up all the strength she had, Floatzel surrounded herself in water and moved out of the way. Unfortunately, the two attacks mixed, heating up the water inside Aqua Jet so she quickly released the attack upon landing. "You okay, girl?" She nodded and turned to growl at Starmie. "Use Aqua Jet!"

"Psyshock!" Starmie's ruby began glowing purple and small stones began rising. Floatzel dashed towards Gem, dodging the onslaught of psychic-powered stone, ultimately reaching her target.

"Follow up with Double Hit!" Floatzel's paws began glowing purple as she punched Starmie with one and then the other.

"Gem!" Marisa called out. Unfortunately for her, the starfish stiffened and toppled over.

The head referee raised his green flag and announced, "Starmie is unable to battle. Addison is the winner of this battle!" The crowd erupted into cheers and even Wesley was giving a soft clap out of respect for Addison but gave Marisa an endearing look. The raven-haired girl slumped as she recalled Starmie, but stood up straight – or at least tried to – when she went to shake Addison's hand.

"You didn't make it as easy as I thought it was going to be."

_This bitch!_ Marisa thought to herself despite remaining quiet. She merely nodded and walked away.

* * *

><p>Alex and his friends began separating to go on with their Friday afternoon activities. Alex and Dawn went to watch a movie in town with Calem and Serena, Brock and Jessica decided to go to the library to study for an upcoming exam, and Mark went bowling with his bandmates.<p>

As Karitoru, Stephen, and Alaina walked on the cement path leaving the Main Stadium, Marisa approached them. "Hey Stephen!" She was holding the hand of a brunette boy. He was a thin teenager who stood at around five foot seven with smooth brown hair that covered his ears. His skin was pale as snow and his eyes an invigorating hazel. He wore a black and white striped hoodie over a plain light gray teen shirt and black jeans. A silver ring with a black line going around it claimed his finger and a familiar rainbow-colored stone was embedded in it.

"What's up Marisa?" Stephen asked casually.

The raven-haired girl turned to her boyfriend, "Wes, this is Stephen, he's Mr. Stone's apprentice. Stephen, this is my boyfriend, Wesley."

A simple smile spread across Wesley's lips which threw Stephen off. He could not find any significant emotion in his smile. No real happiness or jealousy or even indifference. There was nothing.

Stephen reached out a hand and the two shook. "Nice to meet you."

Wesley nodded while maintaining that simple smile, "Likewise."

It was Stephen's turn for introductions. "Marisa, Wesley, these are my friends Karitoru and Alaina." The four shook hands with each other.

Marisa said, "Well Steven wants to know if you could help out at the museum for some last minute preparations."

The green-eyed boy nodded, "Sure. Are you going?"

"Yeah, I'm headed there right now."

"Alright, I'll go with you then," Stephen suggested.

"I'll walk you two to the bus" Wesley responded. He then turned to Marisa, "I'm going to get a bit of training done." She simply nodded and smiled.

Stephen turned back to his friends and said, "Alright, I guess I'll see you guys later then."

"Later, man" Karitoru responded.

"Bye," Alaina said as she hugged him.

After Stephen, Marisa, and Wesley left, Karitoru turned to Alaina, but once he looked into her large sapphire eyes, he started to remember that it was just the two of them there. "S-so, um…you want to go do something?"

She looked back at him and smiled innocently, "S-sure. What did you have in mind?"

"How about we go play pool?"

She nodded, "Okay."

* * *

><p>The entire walk towards the Whether Dorm, Karitoru couldn't help but feel very strange. He and Alaina had talked and hung out together many times before, but ever since he saw her the first day they returned, he could not help but glance at her every so often. She looked much different than what he was used to with her ponytail and jean shorts now transforming into long hair with volume held by a different colored headband each day and skin tight jeans. Her previously pure ears were now adorned with Poke Ball earrings and there were slight traces of blush on her pale skin. He saw her in a completely new light, but he did not want things to change between the two which was why he suggested playing pool – something he and the others did all the time.<p>

Karitoru was putting the billiard balls into the rack and began centering it. "So do you know how to play?"

"Kind of" she said shakily. "I've watched you and Stephen play with my sister a lot."

"Alright, well I'll break." She simply nodded as he made his way to the opposite side and steadied the shot. Once he felt it was good enough, he hit the cue ball and the loud sound of it clashing with the rest of the billiard balls, startled Alaina slightly. He looked up at her, to find her with a bit of a blush. He laughed a bit, "Did that scare you?"

She had a guilty smile, "A little but I was caught off guard."

He teased her, "Yeah, yeah."

"I was!" she protested, but then quickly caught how loud she was.

Karitoru went to set up his next shot after making one from the break. "So the Rattata does have a voice box." A band of pink spread across her face as she gave him a scowl. Even when she was angry, she still looked adorable to him and Karitoru was cursing himself when he felt his cheeks heat up. He struck the cue ball again, but this one missed. "Alright, you're turn." She tried to imitate the general stance that she'd seen everyone else take, but she didn't have a firm grip on the cue stick so the impact made a _clack_ sound and the cue ball rolled away slowly. Karitoru stood next to her and demonstrated with his own stick, "This is how you're supposed to do it. And you're supposed to take your time until you feel comfortable with it." She nodded and allowed him to go with his turn. He made another one and the one after that.

"Don't you know you're supposed to go easy on beginners?" she asked rhetorically.

He chuckled, "The only way you get better at anything is by going up against people that are better than you and trying to beat them."

"True…"

"Hey Alaina…"

"Yeah?"

"You've really become a bit more vocal, lately."

Her cheeks flashed red. "Y-yeah…over the break, Jessica said I should break out of my shell more so she took me shopping and told me I should talk more, even if it sounded stupid."

Karitoru chuckled, "Well you've definitely grown out a bit." She smiled and then giggled when she heard him curse because he missed the shot. "You're turn."

Alaina prepared her shot once again, but Karitoru noticed her not being able to balance it well on the curve between her thumb and index finger. He wanted to help her and before he knew what he was doing, he was behind her with one hand on the cue stick and the other moving her fingers into a circle to hold it in place. She was looking directly at the stick, trying to avoid looking at the fact that he was touching her hand and fighting the warm blush on her cheeks.

Once he realized what he was doing, his cheeks flared as well, but he tried to remain natural. "D-does it feel m-more secure now?" She kept looking down as she nodded. "Y-you okay with this?" She nodded again, this time a bit more tense. "O-okay, n-now just hit it." Together, they pulled back and struck the cue ball, knocking a stripe into a pocket.

Upon hearing the sound of the ball falling in, they both brightened up and Alaina cheered a bit. She turned around and hugged Karitoru tightly. "I did it! T-thank you!"

He smiled, "You did it!"

They separated and looked into each other eyes. Their faces were on the verge of reaching fevers as they just kept staring, feeling both uncomfortable and natural at the same time. Alaina began speaking, but her throat was caving in on itself, "I-I, um…" Suddenly, her eyes widened upon feeling his lips on hers. She was completely at loss for words – or even actions at that point. Just as unexpectedly as their lips met, they separated and Karitoru's dual-colored eyes looked into hers with guilt and shame in them.

"I-I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into me. I-I'll just leave." Before Alaina had a chance to stop him, Karitoru had already gotten his backpack and had left.

**Alright, true story, this chapter wasn't going to end like this, but I was working on it on Valentine's Day (sorry I'm a bit late on posting it) so there you go! Leave your questions, comments, concerns, remarks, rebuttals, inquiries, and general thoughts in the reviews. Legacy, out!**


	8. Chapter 8: Leaving

**How's it going, everyone?! It's barely been a week since I've updated but it feels like much longer! I'll let you guys know a little bit of what's been going on in my life. So I've been watching "How I Met Your Mother" and am actually tempted on writing a story in that style with the narrator recounting events to another character but definitely not as drawn out as the show. I also had a couple midterms this week and last week and then there was, as a few of you know, this girl I started talking to (don't get excited because she wasn't interested).**

**Okay, now for that whole thing with CK. If some of you have noticed, he's improved in terms of the OCs he submits, but stay weary of him and other people trying to pass of template/recycled OCs because you as readers have power over the stories you read especially in the SYOC community.**

**Tony0423: It's fine to speculate because it's a very possible outcome.**

**Alright, let's get on with this chapter!**

**Chapter 8: Leaving**

"Achoo!" Alex's nose was burning red, his face was flushed, and a small stream of mucus was coming down above his upper lip. Dawn dabbed a tissue against her boyfriend's nose and tossed it into the trash next to his bed. "I'm okay to go, babe. Really, I am." His congested voice said otherwise.

The bluenette raised a doubtful eyebrow and placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "Yeah right. You're running a fever."

"Plup! Piplup" the little penguin lectured him.

Dawn continued, "Besides, who told you it was a good idea to have a water balloon fight last night? It was below eighty degrees." She turned around at Alex's roommate and neighbors to find them all pointing at each other. She let out a sigh, "Sorry Stephen, but Alex can't go and I don't trust him not to go out so I'll have to stay here with him."

Stephen was dressed in a suit and tie on Steven's request, but having been under the Hoenn Champion's tutelage, he was already used to it. His suit was very average unlike the usual suits Steven wore – consisting of a black blazer and slacks, a cream-colored dress shirt, and a black tie with beige swirls

Stephen shook his head in response to Dawn, "No worries. After all, it is sort of my fault."

Karitoru gave a quick clap, "You said it, me and Mark are off the hook."

His roommate punched him in the arm, "Who bought the balloons?" The snow-haired teen merely whistled and exited the room with Mark and Stephen following behind.

"We'll let you know how it goes," Mark said as he waved goodbye to Alex and Dawn and closed the door behind him.

* * *

><p>As Mark and the others approached the rest of their friends, Jessica placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled upon seeing Stephen. "Lookin' sharp."<p>

Serena nodded, "Yeah Stephen, you look really nice."

He chuckled, "Thanks. I always wear suits to these kinds of things."

The group boarded the bus and took their seats with Karitoru and Alaina taking the window seats away from each other and avoided eye contact. Stephen watched them curiously, but decided it best to address it later.

"So what's it like being Mr. Stone's apprentice?" Brock asked.

Stephen smiled widely, "It's great! The past four years of my life, I've travelled with him all across the Hoenn Region, learned how to train and battle with Pokemon, and met all sorts of cool people from Gym Leaders to Elite Four Members to other kinds of really experienced trainers."

Jessica added, "And you get to travel with that hunk of a man." Her friends erupted into laughter and she soon joined in.

* * *

><p>Dawn held a spoonful of vegetable noodle soup in her hand as she waved it around and said, "Open up for the vegi express."<p>

Alex crossed his arms and shook his head, "Nuh-uh!"

Trying to maintain her enthusiasm, Dawn responded, "Come on, it's delicious!"

"It has green things so it's nasty!"

"Babe, come on! This has been going on for five minutes! It tastes better hot so please just eat it before it gets any colder."

Alex held his ground, "I don't wanna'."

The blue-haired girl sighed, "If you eat the soup, I'll buy you a Pinap Berry smoothie."

"If I eat half."

She finally had to put her foot down. "Three-fourths and that's the end of it."

Alex placed his thumb and index finger underneath his chin and thought about it for a moment. His emerald eyes were lit with eagerness as he responded, "Throw in that thing that I like that you do for me and you've got a deal."

She let out a groan and blush formed on her cheeks. "Fine! Now eat your stupid soup!" Alex sat up straight and began digging into the soup so quickly that you not have guessed that ten seconds prior, he was resisting it so much.

* * *

><p>After emptying out their pockets to walk through metal detectors, Stephen and the others walked into a grand hall filled with visitors looking at the different items of Steven's exhibit. As they passed by podiums holding stones protected by glass, Jessica remarked, "Steven sure is nuts about rocks, huh?" She did not direct it to anyone in particular.<p>

Stephen excused himself to go meet up with Steven, Hector, Marisa, and the rest of the excavation team. The cyan-haired man was entertaining other well-dressed visitors while Marisa stood around with a fake smile. She would nod and laugh along to whatever came out of their pompous mouths. The short girl was wearing a black spaghetti-strap dress with a glossy pink sash tied at the back in a bow.

Like Marisa, Steven was groaning inwardly, using generic responses to give whenever they asked for his opinion. Upon seeing Stephen approach, Steven interrupted the man speaking at the moment, "Excuse me, Jeremiah, but I'd like to introduce you to a very good friend. This is my protégé, Stephen Richards. He's a student at Pokemon Academy, but before that, he accompanied me on my travels to learn about archeology and Pokemon training. Stephen, this is Jeremiah. He is the owner of one of the top banking firms in Sinnoh and a huge benefactor to this museum."

Jeremiah was a short portly old man with a thick gray mustache and the overly cliché monocle and top hat. He had swollen rosy cheeks and large sapphire eyes that beamed upon seeing Steven's apprentice. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you!" He offered the adolescent a handshake to which Stephen accepted with a firm hold. Jeremiah turned his head to Steven and chuckled, "My heavens, Steven! The boy has a strong arm on him, doesn't he?" He turned back to Stephen and put an arm around him to lead him elsewhere, "So it is my understanding that you are interested in archeology." Steven followed behind with a grin while shaking his head and Marisa tagged along.

* * *

><p>Dawn patted Alex's back to ease his coughing. He felt as though a broom was being dragged across the inside of his throat each time he released a cough. After his current fit, she rubbed his back and asked, "You okay?"<p>

He sniffed to prevent mucus from escaping his nose and let out a soft groan. "Being sick sucks!"

"I know, babe." She picked up her bag and said, "Let me get some cough medicine from the student store, okay? That means you are _not_ allowed to leave this room unless the building is on fire."

Alex lied down in his bed, "Relax, babe I'm not going anywhere."

Dawn raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I believe that." She then turned to Pikachu and Piplup and instructed them, "Keep an eye on him for me, please?" They both gave her their promises to watch Alex, giving her enough assurance to go get the medicine.

* * *

><p>Mark and the others walked around looking at the different stones and fossils with Jessica making occasional jokes about them. While the group was scattered, Karitoru and Alaina found themselves looking at the same display of evolution stones.<p>

They noticed the other's presence but kept standing next to each other to prevent anyone from noticing that something was amiss. Or at least, that was part of their reason. Memories of the previous evening were flashing through their heads along with questions likes "How did it get to that point?" and "Why did I do that?"

Finally, they took a quick glance before looking back at the display. Alaina pushed a misplaced lock of her black hair behind her ear while Karitoru scratched his arm. He could feel small drops of sweat forming on his face and beginning to travel down. Her heart beat began to accelerate and she found it harder to breathe.

Noticing that Alaina was not leaving, Karitoru mustered up all the courage he had and said, "H-hey, Alaina."

She turned to face him and he was filled with anxiety knowing her innocent blue eyes were on him. She placed her right hand on her left arm and responded, "H-hi…"

"D-do you think we can talk…a-about last night?" Alaina swallowed and let out shaky breath before nodding. The two searched for a private location to have a conversation.

Shortly after Karitoru and Alaina left, a tall man in his late fifties with round glasses began speaking into a microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?" His voice echoed throughout the room causing everyone to face him. Behind the elderly man stood Steven Stone and his excavation team, waiting patiently for the man to speak. "I am Nicholas Biscetti, the director of the New Port City Museum and today, I have the pleasure of hosting Mr. Stone's exhibit here. I hope you are all enjoying the marvelous findings he has brought and I'd like him to speak a little on behalf of his work. This is a man who has revolutionized the world through his impeccable prowess in Pokemon battles as well as his extraordinary intelligence and research. I present to you, Steven Stone."

Steven took to the podium and patiently waited for the crowd to stop clapping. When they did, he began speaking, "Thank you, Mr. Biscetti for that introduction and for hosting this exhibit." He gave the crowd a winning smile and said, "I never really liked when people would go on and on about their work so I will try to keep this as short as possible. A few months ago, the dean of Pokemon Academy, Dean Blackthorn told me about a student who went into the sea cave on the northern side of Infinity Mountain and about the stones that the student would find there. This piqued my interest so with Ms. Blackthorn's permission, my excavation team and I came to the island to search for the different stones and fossils found in the cave and those finding are the ones before you today. We have an assortment of all of the evolution stones in the display case which through carbon dating are estimated to be around five-hundred-thousand years old. My project manager, Hector Brown, and our intern, Marisa Alvarado, contributed the to the majority of these findings. In addition, we found a few Mega Stones – these are spherical gems that allow a certain Pokemon to achieve a higher power if it and its trainer share a powerful bond. On the wall to my left, you'll find a small collection of fossils, the most prominent are the Dragonite bones that we date back to three-hundred-thousand years ago.

"Now, if there's anything that I've learned growing up – and this lesson can be applied to each and every one of you whether you are a Pokemon trainer, an academic, or come from any other walk of life – is that to accomplish truly remarkable things, you need others to help you. Any one single person can have the most brilliant of ideas but to bring it to life they cannot succeed on their own. You must be willing to accept the help of others because that is what will get you closer to reaching your goal in the long run. That is why I'd also like to give a huge thank you to my excavation team." He turned his head to face them. "Each and every one of you has made this exhibit possible and I thank you for that." There was round of applause for the excavation team which Steven allowed to finish before continuing. "Now I'd like you all to enjoy the findings we've brought to you." The crowd gave one final round of applause and Steven stepped away from the podium.

The crowd dispersed and the room was filled with conversations. Stephen stepped down from the raised platform and called over his friends, taking note that Karitoru and Alaina were not present. "Steven, I'd like to introduce you to some of my friends. This is Mark, Jessica, Brock, Calem, and Serena."

Steven shook each of their hands, but it took some coaxing from the others for Jessica to let go of the champion's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Stephen's told me about all of the friends he's made here, but I could have sworn there were a few more of you."

Stephen responded, "Well there are a few more friends that came with us but I'm not exactly sure where they are right now and Mark's roommate is sick so he had to stay in his room."

The cyan-haired man gave Stephen's friends a sincere smile, "Well I'm glad you all came and I hope you're enjoying the exhibit. Are there any questions any of you would like to ask me?" Stephen's friend immediately crowded the Hoenn Champion and started bombarding him with questions, making Steven chuckle. "Alright, alright. I'll answer each of your questions." Stephen watched as his friends walked off with his mentor and he couldn't help but smile. He then felt someone tap his shoulder and turned around to find Marisa standing behind him.

"Hey!" she said enthusiastically.

"Oh, hey Marisa. How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Can you believe how many people showed up to this? Doesn't it feel amazing to know we helped in bringing this exhibit to the public?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I think people like the evolution stone collection you and Hector worked on. So where's Wesley?"

She shrugged and curved her lips, "He didn't show up. He said he had some training to do or something."

"That's weird, I would've thought that he'd show up for something as important to you as this." _Why did I say it like that?_

Marisa glanced down and looked back up at him, "Normally, he would be but lately he's been really obsessed with training. Doesn't really make that much time for me anymore."

Stephen was taken aback, "That's weird. Everything seemed fine yesterday."

She bit her lip and continued speaking, "Yeah…it seemed fine, but after he dropped us off at the bus stop, he went to go train and when we came back, he was still training. I don't know what I'm doing wrong that he doesn't want to spend time with me."

"Maybe you should just give him some space. Something's probably going on in his life and I know you want to help him, but sometimes all someone needs is to figure out what's wrong on their own. He'll go to you when he feels that he needs your help."

"You know, for a freshman, you're pretty smart." She poked him in the side. "Thanks." He was surprised when she went in to hug him.

He hugged her back, "Yeah, no problem."

"So that's Eric's little brother, huh?"

"Yeah, it's not hard to see the resemblance, right?"

She nodded, _I wonder if he's anything like his loser older brother, though_.

* * *

><p>Dawn entered Alex's room with a bottle of Delsym but to her surprise, her boyfriend and their Pokemon were not in the room. She looked underneath Alex and Mark's beds, their closets (although she regretted doing so), and even Karitoru and Stephen's room but could not find them. She dropped the bottle of cough medicine, balled up her fists, and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Aaaaaaalleeeeeeex!"<p>

* * *

><p>Karitoru and Alaina found themselves outside next to a fountain surrounded by marvel pillars and a hedge garden. Alaina took a seat on the concreate around the fountain and Karitoru joined her shortly after.<p>

It took them a moment before they began talking, but Karitoru went first, "So about yesterday…" The way she looked at him with such purity sent his head spinning as he scrambled for the right words. "I'm…I'm sorry that I kissed you…" Alaina's hope faded and she began to feel foolish for letting her feelings get the best of her. He understood immediately what was going through her head. "I didn't mean it like that…"

She stood up and shook her head, trying to fight the tears. "No, it's okay." She feigned a smile, but he could see the hurt in her eyes. She had gotten her hopes up so high that a boy would actually find her attractive so hearing him regret kissing her killed any confidence she had.

Alaina began walking away but out of sheer instinct, Karitoru grabbed her by the wrist. "Look, Alaina…I'm not trying to say that I want to take the kiss back. I-I really like you. You're sweetest person I've ever met, you're beyond smart, and you have this untainted purity to you that lets you show compassion to both people and Pokemon. Y-you're an amazing human being and there should be more people like you…but there aren't and that's what makes you so special. And I know looks shouldn't be a big thing when you like someone – a-and they aren't – but when I saw you that first day back from Winter Break and how much you'd changed…you looked absolutely beautiful. I know I'm just rambling now but what I'm trying to say is will you –"

And now he was completely caught off guard as Alaina leaned in to give him a kiss. She was a bit too eager and ended up hitting their lips against each other. "I-I'm so sorry! I imagined that going so much different!" She placed her hands over her face and let out a muffled groan.

Karitoru parted her hands with his and she could see a large grin on his face. "Here, let me take a whack at it then." He closed his eyes and leaned in to give Alaina a gentle kiss. She did not know what to do, but that did not matter to Karitoru because frankly, he didn't either. Alaina was the first girl he had ever kissed and a small peck was more than good enough for him. The two parted ways and smiled at each other, beyond excited knowing that they shared feelings for each other. The snow-haired teen offered her his hand and she gladly accepted it, although her fingers were a bit awkward the first time and needed to be fixed so that they could hold hands comfortably. Their bliss was short-lived because of the noise coming from inside the museum. They separated and rushed inside to find people running about wildly and at first, they were unable to identify the source of the chaos until they saw people wearing white, light blue, and black knight's garments with the Team Plasma symbol on their chests. "What are those scum doing here?!"

Karitoru felt Alaina grip his hand and turned to hear her say, "We should find the others." Despite wanting to battle, Karitoru thought it best to get Alaina to Jessica. The older girl would never forgive him if something were to happen to her little sister.

* * *

><p>Dawn searched the Tao Dorm up and down – or at least the areas she could access – but could not find Alex anywhere. Finally, she exited the building and was almost hit by a falling water balloon which exploded on the ground, wetting her shoes. She looked up to find Alex trying to hide on the roof of the building.<p>

She let out a groan, "Of course he'd be on the roof!" The bluenette quickly ran back inside and made her way to the roof to find Alex, Pikachu, and Piplup with a bag of deflated balloons. "Are you serious right now?!"

The brunette hid behind the two Pokemon and tried to plead with his girlfriend, "Now babe, *sniff* I know that you told me not to go outside but I saw Paul picking on some other students outside so I thought I'd teach the jerk a lesson."

"So why'd you almost hit _me_?!"

His shoulders rose, "I sneezed when I was about to throw it."

She held the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath before saying, "And why didn't you two stop him?" Pikachu and Piplup looked at each other, unable to answer her question. "All three of you down to Alex's room, now!" She did not have to repeat herself because within seconds, her boyfriend and their Pokemon were off of the roof and on their way down to Alex's room.

* * *

><p>Steven pointed at a Team Plasma grunt's Garbodor and called out, "Metagross, use Zen Headbutt!" The four-legged steel-type concentrated its psychic energy into its forehead and slammed into the garbage Pokemon, knocking it out.<p>

Stephen followed suit, "Metang, Metal Claw!" The hovering metal Pokemon hardened its claw and swung at the opposing Watchog.

"Gastly, Night Shade!"

"Jolteon, Thunderbolt!"

"Fennekin, Ember!" After releasing a puff of burning ash to defeat an opposing Purrloin, another grunt came at Serena and Fennekin with his Watchog.

Calem walked up next to his girlfriend and called out, "Quilladin, use Vine Whip!" A long vine grew out from the round hedgehog and whipped the opposing Pokemon to protect the fire fox. The couple smiled at each other, pleased with their teamwork.

"Croagunk, Brick Break!"

"Miss, hit 'em with a Shadow Ball!"

All of the trainers present in the museum fought back against the incoming threat. Steven was not sure what they were after, but the sudden appearance of Team Plasma struck him as odd. They did not even try to disguise themselves to steal what they were after in secrecy but rather walked right up to him and issued a challenge. He was able to quickly defeat their Pokemon, but it was beginning to feel like the waves of grunts would never end and he could not risk leaving the less experienced trainers to protect the civilians to investigate this further despite their capability of defeating average grunts. With no other options, he decided to turn to his interns.

"Stephen, Marisa, Team Plasma's blatant appearance is disturbing me."

"I know, they're an eyesore," Marisa responded. "I can't believe they think that uniform is fashionable."

"No, I mean that it troubles me that they would come out for a fight so openly. They're here for something but I don't know what. I need you two to find out what and if it is part of the exhibit, stop them from taking it. Do not do anything that would endanger someone else's life. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Stephen responded professionally while Marisa gave a simple nodded. The Hoenn Champion covered for the two so they could make their escape from the battle field.

Once Stephen and Marisa made it out of the room, the third year asked, "Any idea where to start looking?"

Her answer came in the form of a group of grunts running past them. One was holding a briefcase, indicating that there was something important inside. The teenagers looked at each other and with a nod, chased after the grunts.

* * *

><p>Eden panted and took in deep breaths as sweat trickled down her face. Her burning red hair was out of place so she pushed it out of her face and behind her ear, believing that she had finished the wave of grunts. She stood in the forest north of campus, but a lush green paradise for Pokemon was now a field of burning trees and grass – which was partly her fault.<p>

The sound of grass being crushed rang in her ears and her eyes darted around the area looking for the source. They found the culprit – a boy that had to be older than her by no more than one year. His long green hair was topped by a black and white hat – one that she was all too familiar with. The boy standing meters away from her in the ring of flames was one of her classmates…N.

She let out a broken whimper before crying out, "What do you want from me?!" He remained silent with a solemn look on his face. "Why are you chasing me?! Why are you with them?!" Still no response. He merely took a step forward which caused her to take one back and Salamence to let out a fearsome roar.

"Eden Ray Taylor…do you care about Pokemon?" She did not respond at first, but he waited as long as he had to for that response.

"Y-yes…"

He reached a hand forward but remained where he stood. "I need your help to bring a brighter future for all Pokemon. Will you help me?"

She cocked her head slightly and asked, "W-what do you need from me?"

He lowered his hand and responded, "I cannot tell you…"

Salamence immediately took flight towards him and opened his mouth to unleash a Flamethrower attack. A large white Pokemon came down from above and intercepted the attack. It opened its wings wide and Salamence's flames dissipated. It had white fur instead of scales with a long main flowing behind its head, two rings around its neck, long arms with gray claws and wisp-like wings, and a generator tail with a streamer going throw it to wave around freely in the air. Eden immediately understood what was standing in front of her. It was a legendary Pokemon – a dragon-type with immense power that commanded flames.

All her lips could form was, "Re…shi…ram…"

"This majestic Pokemon is the legendary dragon of truth and fire. I have been given this power so that I can help Pokemon by liberating them. Eden, I apologize for what I must do…" N turned his head to the glorious white beast in front of him. "Reshiram…Fusion Flare."

The white dragon looked upwards and a large sphere of fire formed above them all. It looked like a very small sun and even the heat it exerted was unbearable. It came down on the Salamence, consuming it in ravaging flames. The impact caused Eden to fly backwards and slam into a tree. Even N was pushed back, but he held a bit more resistance to the attack – or rather, it was more of preparation for the impact.

Once the flames died down, Eden could see her companion lying down unconscious and in no state to battle for a while. She lay on the ground with her eyes burning from the heat, begging to be closed. As they grew heavier, all she could see was N making his way towards her.

* * *

><p>Stephen and Marisa chased after the grunts, who at this point were well aware of their pursuers' presence and were trying desperately to escape capture. They were all in a parking lot and the grunts were clearly trying to get to a car. One turned around and called out a tan-colored crocodile Pokemon which stood on two feet.<p>

"Go, Leif!" A small yellow grass-type with three green spots on his forehead, two green leaves on his sides, and a brown stem coming from the top of his head appeared before Marisa.

"Weepinbell!" he called out.

"Stephen, you go on ahead!"

"You sure?"

"Yes! Now go!" Stephen did as he was told and continued after the remaining grunts. "Leif, use Razor Leaf!" The grass-type spun around and shot out a barrage of sharp leaves.

"Use Dig, Krokorok!" The crocodile dug its way underground and sprang up from underneath Leif, knocking him back. "Sand Tomb!" A spinning vortex of sand made its way towards Leif and sent him into Marisa. The tornado did not stop there because it traveled towards Marisa and slammed her into a wall, making her let out a yell before passing out. Miss tried to fight, but was defeated by an Assurance attack.

Stephen turned around to find Marisa unconscious but looked back at the escaping grunts, not really sure what to do. As he turned to take another look at Marisa, the grunt that was fighting her punched him in the gut and ran right passed him. He merely kneeled over, holding his stomach, and watched as the criminals piled into a car and drove off.

Steven and Hector soon arrived to find Stephen and Marisa lying on the ground. Hector picked Marisa and Miss up while Steven went to make sure his apprentice was okay.

* * *

><p>The museum was surrounded by police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances – each one there for a specific reason. Stephen sat on a stone bench, looking down at his intertwined fingers when his friends started gathering around him. They all gave him a hug out of joy because he was safe, but Jessica could instantly tell something was bothering him.<p>

"Hey, what's up, kiddo?"

He shook his head and responded, "It's nothing." His expression said otherwise.

"The look of complete loss and disgrace begs to differ." She sat down next to him and put and arm around him. "Tell me what's wrong. Now."

"I…I failed…"

Jessica put her hands up, "So you didn't catch the perps, who cares?! You're safe and that's all that matters!"

"I didn't just let them get away. I also let Marisa get hurt…I-I stopped and couldn't decide which one I was more concerned about so I failed at both. Steven told me to find what Team Plasma was looking for – I still don't know what it is – and to make sure no one got hurt…" he took a look at all the paramedics around, "and look how that turned out."

Brock placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "You can't put all of the blame on yourself. Mr. Stone gave you a tall order that not many people could have lived up to. You did what you could with what you had."

Stephen quickly stood up and shouted, "But I failed! This was my chance to prove to Steven that those four years I spent with him weren't just a waste of his time and that I learned something from him…I'm disgusted by myself because I actually had to think about what was more important between the criminals and Marisa's health."

"You didn't fail, Stephen."

They all turned to find Steven and said in unison, "Mr. Stone," before making way for him.

The young man continued, "Marisa is perfectly fine. She knew what she was getting herself into but she didn't back down. If anyone is at fault, it's me…but I can't just sit around sulking and feeling sorry for myself because there wasn't much else I could have done. I had to send you two to find out what Team Plasma wanted. I wish that you two did not have to go through that pain, but all I can do is be grateful that you are both alive."

Steven waited patiently to see what Stephen had to say. All eyes were on him and no one dared to say a word until the green-eyed boy spoke. After a long pause, Stephen said, "Steven, I think I need more training with you."

The Hoenn Champion responded, "Think about this before making a decision, Stephen. You've made friends and you have a life for yourself here. Do you really just want to go up and leave?"

"I do. This academy…it's great and I've met lots of amazing people, but I need to become a better battler so that I can protect the people I care about. If I were stronger, you wouldn't have had to send Marisa because you would've had faith in my own abilities." He turned around to face his friends and started, "I'm sorry guys –" He was interrupted because Jessica gave him a hug and soon the rest of the group surrounded him so show him that they understood.

Karitoru told him, "You've got to do what you've got to do, man and if that means leaving, then we're okay with that."

Now his friends were completely caught off guard when they saw a single tear surface from Stephen's green eyes and travel down his cheek to his warm smile. "Thanks guys. I promise I'll be back, but for now…I need to get stronger."

Steven said, "I need to smooth out some things here, but we'll be leaving on Monday evening. Is that okay with you?"

Stephen nodded, "Yeah, it gives me time with my friends. Besides, I still need to tell a certain someone about my decision so I can hear him yell at me about why this is a bad decision." His friends chuckled knowing exactly who he was talking about.

* * *

><p>"Achoo!" Alex sniffed to prevent mucus from escaping his nose.<p>

* * *

><p>During the bus ride home, everything seemed normal – even Karitoru and Alaina were talking again, but did not make any implications of their relationship. That is, until they reached campus when Karitoru agreed to not only walk with Alaina and Jessica back to their dorm, but to walk Alaina to her room, saying that he just wanted to make sure she was okay and not shaken up by the Team Plasma attack.<p>

Once they reached her room, they stood outside for a moment. "Hey Alaina, I'm sorry that we didn't hold hands or that I didn't put my arm around you on the bus. It's just that after hearing that Stephen wants to leave, I didn't feel like now was the time to let everyone know."

She nodded, "I was thinking the same thing. Should we hold off on us, then?"

"Well I mean, we can get together, but let's give everyone some time after Stephen leaves to adjust before telling them that we're…you know."

"I agree." The two stood there looking at each other, not really knowing what to do next.

Karitoru spoke up, "So…I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" She gave him a sweet smile and nodded, but there was no indication that she was going inside her room so he leaned in to give her a kiss. It was another simple peck, but the two were happy with it.

* * *

><p>The number of lights on inside the administration office were dwindling down as two women were readying to close for the day. One was seated at a computer while the other was going through a filing cabinet.<p>

"Hey Nancy?"

"Yes?" The plump black-haired woman behind the computer asked.

"It seems that a student is no longer attending the academy."

"Really? Which one."

The tall tan-skinned woman with curly black hair tied in a bun held a manila folder in her hand. "Her name is Eden Ray Taylor. It seems that her parents requested her to be withdrawn from the school earlier today."

Nancy began looking through emails and found that they had received one from Eden's parents saying that they wanted to take Eden home and that they were in a rush so they left the paperwork required to withdraw their daughter in the office. "I guess I'll update the system then."

**Two students leave the academy – one of their own will and one forced. Let me know what you think about this chapter and about the future of this story! Leave your questions, comments, concerns, remarks, rebuttals, inquiries, and general thoughts in the reviews. Legacy, out!**


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